Pont Alexandre III

Pont Alexandre III; the Grand Palais can be seen in the background.

Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, commonly regarded as "the most ornate", "the most elegant", or "the most extravagant" in Paris.

The bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It was named after Tsar Alexander III who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. It was Alexander's son Nicholas II who laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank.

The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a 6m high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides.

Gilded sculpture atop one of the masonry counterweights

The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby and inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition (as were the nearby Grand Palais and Petit Palais). The Pont Alexandre III is classified as a historical monument.

A crowd of sculptors provided the sculpture that is a prominent feature. Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17-meter socles, that provide stabilizing counterweight for the arch, without interfering with monumental views. The socles are crowned by Fames restraining Pegasus: on the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences ("Fame of the Sciences") and the Renommée des Arts ("Fame of the Arts") both by Emmanuel Frémiet; at their bases, La France Contemporaine ("Contemporary France") by Gustave Michel and France de Charlemagne ("France of Charlemagne") by Alfred Lenoir.

Detail of gilded sculpture and one of the masonry counterweights

On the Left Bank, the Renommée du Commerce ("Fame of Commerce") by Pierre Granet and the Renommée de l'Industrie ("Fame of Industry") by Clément Steiner; at their bases France de la Renaissance ("France of the Renaissance") by Jules Coutan and La France de Louis XIV ("France of Louis XIV") by Laurent Honoré Marqueste. The lions are by Jules Dalou and Georges Gardet. At the centres of the arches, Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of France correspond with Nymphs of the Neva with the arms of Imperial Russia on the other face; both are executed in hammered copper over forms by Georges Récipon.

Trivia

Detail of the bridge's decoration.

• In the film Angel-A it is the Pont Alexandre III from which Angela and André jump into the Seine.
• In the movie Anastasia (1997), the bridge is damaged by Rasputin in an attempt to kill Anastasia.
• In the film Ronin, the spy team meets some arms dealers under the bridge on the Right Bank.
• In the sixth season of the TV series the The Sopranos, in the episode "Cold Stones", Carmela Soprano visits Paris and crosses the bridge.

See also

• Trinity Bridge - a bridge in Saint Petersburg conceived as a memorial to the Franco-Russian Alliance (design by Gustave Eiffel, first stone laid in August 1897 by President of France Félix Faure)

External links

• Media related to Pont Alexandre III at Wikimedia Commons
• Alexandre III Bridge at Structurae
• Pont Alexandre III
• Alexandre III Bridge- current photographs and of the years 1900.