Pont de l'Alma

Coordinates: 48°51′48.68″N 02°18′06.58″E / 48.8635222°N 2.3018278°E / 48.8635222; 2.3018278

Pont de l'Alma
Pont de l'Alma, illuminated at night
Coordinates	48°51′48.68″N 02°18′06.58″E / 48.8635222°N 2.3018278°E / 48.8635222; 2.3018278
Crosses	Seine
Locale	Paris, France
Official name	Pont de l'Alma
Next upstream	Pont des Invalides
Next downstream	Passerelle Debilly
Characteristics
Design	Girder bridge
Total length	153 m (502 ft)
Width	42 m (138 ft)

Pont de l'Alma (Alma Bridge in English) is a road bridge in Paris across the Seine. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War, in which the Ottoman-Franco-British alliance achieved victory over the Russian army on 20 September 1854.

History

Construction

Construction of an arch bridge took place between 1854 and 1856. It was designed by Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie and was inaugurated by Napoleon III on 2 April 1856. Each side of both of the two piers was decorated with a statue of military nature: a Zouave and a grenadier by Georges Diébolt, and a skirmisher and an artilleryman by Arnaud.

Zouave statue and flooding

The Zouave statue

The pont de l'Alma Zouave statue, June the 3rd, 2016

The general public took the original bridge as a measuring instrument for water levels in times of flooding on the Seine: access to the footpaths by the river embankments usually was closed when the Seine's level reached the feet of the Zouave; when the water hit his thighs, the river was unnavigable. During the great flood of the Seine in 1910, the level reached his shoulders. The French Civil Service used the Pont de la Tournelle, not the Pont de l'Alma, to gauge flood levels, and since 1868 uses the Pont d'Austerlitz.

Reconstruction

The bridge underwent complete reconstruction as a girder bridge between 1970 and 1974, as it had been too narrow to accommodate the increasing traffic both on and below it; moreover, the structure had subsided some 80 centimeters. Only the statue of the Zouave was retained: the Skirmisher was relocated to the Gravelle Stronghold in Vincennes, the Grenadier to Dijon, and the Artilleryman to La Fère.

Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

Main article: Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

The bridge is close to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales was involved in a fatal car crash on 31 August 1997.^[1]^[2] The Flame of Liberty at the bridge's north end has become an unofficial memorial to Diana.

Technical specifications

Pont de l'Alma has a length of 153 meters (502 ft) and a width of 42 meters (138 ft).

Access

Location on the Seine

The Metro station Alma - Marceau is near the north end of the bridge, RER station Pont de l'Alma near the south end.

References

↑ Whitney, Craig R. (31 August 1997). "Diana Killed in a Car Accident in Paris". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
↑ John King; John Beveridge (2001). Princess Diana: The Hidden Evidence. SP Books. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-56171-922-8. Retrieved 31 May 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont de l'Alma.

(French) Pictures of them e old and the new bridge
(French) Bridge history

7th arrondissement of Paris

Neighbourhoods	Faubourg Saint-Germain Quartier du Gros-Caillou

Primary and secondary schools	Lycée et collège Victor Duruy Établissement La Rochefoucauld Institut de l'Alma Lycée-collège Paul-Claudel Lycée d'Hulst Lycée Sainte-Jeanne Elisabeth Lycée Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin Lycée Thérèse-Chappuis Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci

Colleges and universities	American University of Paris Sciences Po

Landmarks	American Church in Paris Eiffel Tower Hôtel de Boisgelin Hôtel Matignon Les Invalides Musée de l'Armée Musée des Plans-Reliefs Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine Musée Maillol Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération Musée du quai Branly Musée Rodin Musée Valentin Haüy Pont de l'Alma Pont des Invalides Taipei Representative Office in France

Paris Métro stations	Assemblée Nationale Champ de Mars Duroc École Militaire Invalides La Tour-Maubourg Rue du Bac Saint-François-Xavier Ségur Sèvres – Babylone Solférino Vaneau Varenne

Paris RER stations	Invalides

8th arrondissement of Paris

Neighbourhoods	Quartier des Champs-Élysées Quartier du Faubourg-du-Roule Quartier de la Madeleine Quartier de l'Europe

Primary and secondary schools	Lycée Chaptal Lycée Racine Cours Hattemer Lycée Fénelon Sainte-Marie

Colleges and universities	Intégrale : Institut d'enseignement supérieur privé

Landmarks	Arc de Triomphe Champs-Élysées Grand Palais Élysée Palace Four Seasons Hotel George V Hôtel de Crillon Hôtel de Marigny Hôtel de la Marine La Madeleine Musée Bouilhet-Christofle (closed) Musée Cernuschi Musée Jacquemart-André Musée Nissim de Camondo Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Paris Palais de la Découverte Parc Monceau Petit Palais Pinacothèque de Paris (closed) Place Charles de Gaulle Place de la Concorde Luxor Obelisk Pont Alexandre III Pont de l'Alma Pont de la Concorde Pont des Invalides Royal Monceau Raffles Paris Saint-Augustin, Paris The Scots Kirk, Paris Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Théâtre du Rond-Point

Paris Métro stations	Alma – Marceau Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau Charles de Gaulle – Étoile Concorde Courcelles Europe George V Liège Madeleine Miromesnil Monceau Place de Clichy Rome Saint-Augustin Saint-Lazare Saint-Philippe du Roule Ternes Villiers

SNCF stations	Gare Saint-Lazare

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