Pont Saint-Laurent

What you will see

Walk across from the Mâcon quays, where the Saône is wide and slow. In a niche on the third pier stands a statue of Saint Nicholas, placed there in 1958 in memory of the lost chapel. On the downstream side of the western pier, a flood scale records the great floods of the river, including that of 1640. From the Saint-Laurent bank, look back at the arches, the quays of Mâcon and the twin spires of the Église Saint-Pierre.

History

A text of 1077 already mentions the bridge, when an oven at its entrance was given to the chapter of the cathedral of Saint-Vincent in Mâcon. Tolls on the crossing and on river traffic paid for its upkeep, and chains stretched between the arches stopped boats that had not paid. A chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron of boatmen, stood on one of the arches until a flood carried it away in October 1423.

The bridge was rebuilt many times on its medieval foundations. Works from 1771 to 1789 widened it, and between 1843 and 1845 the first four arches were rebuilt for steam navigation, while slabs on stone brackets and a light metal railing replaced the heavy parapets. It was classified as a historic monument in 1987, and to spare it, a bypass canal was dug on the Ain side for large barges. A full renovation in 2016 and 2017 renewed its paving stones, railings and lamps.