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Pont Neuf, Toulouse

Pont Neuf, Toulouse
Le Pont-Neuf de Toulouse.jpg
Pont Neuf, Toulouse
Coordinates 43°35′58″N 1°26′19″E / 43.599307°N 1.438724°E / 43.599307; 1.438724Coordinates: 43°35′58″N 1°26′19″E / 43.599307°N 1.438724°E / 43.599307; 1.438724
Crosses Garonne River
Locale Toulouse
Official name Pont de Pierre
Characteristics
Design arch bridge
Material stone
Longest span approximately 30 metres (98 ft)
No. of spans 7
History
Designer Jacques Le Mercier (Lemercier)
Pierre Souffron
Construction begin 1544
Construction end 1632

The Pont Neuf, French for "New Bridge" (a.k.a. Pont de Pierre and Grand Pont), is a 16th-century bridge in Toulouse, in the South of France.

Original planning for the bridge started in 1542 by the assembly of a committee of master masons and carpenters. Construction started on the foundations in 1544; the first arch was started in 1614. The bridge was finished in 1632, and was inaugurated on 19 October 1659.

The bridge is not symmetrical; the longest arch is the third from the right-hand bank. The openings through the piers were originally supposed to represent the face and mane of a lion. A triumphal archway added in 1686 constricted traffic and was removed in 1860.

It is 220m long, and has 7 arches.


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