"Under the Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine. Et nos amours faut-il qu'ils m'en souviennent. Joy always came after sorrow" wrote Guillaume Apollinaire, in his famous poem soberly entitled Le Pont Mirabeau.
It was the President of the Republic at the time, Sadi Carnot, who took the decision to build the Mirabeau Bridge in 1893. Engineers Jean Résal, Paul Rabel and Amédée Alby were given the task of designing the new Parisian bridge.
They created a beautiful 173-meter-long structure made entirely of metal. The choice of this material may seem audacious for the time, but there was a reason for it all. The idea was to build a bridge with piers close to both banks, to facilitate river traffic. Unable to build such a structure in stone, the architects opted for metal.
The Pont Mirabeau is the first metal bridge to feature two symmetrical frameworks, which arch into each other to give the structure its balance. An architectural marvel. Résal and Alby would later use their expertise to build the Pont Alexandre III.
The Pont Mirabeau, listed as a historic monument in 1975, is beautifully adorned at the foot of each pier with four allegorical sculptures on ships, created by Jean-Antoine Injalbert and representing Commerce, Navigation, Abundance and the City of Paris.
A must-see on a fine summer's day, to take in the lovely panoramic view from the bridge!
