The Alexandre III bridge is one of 37 bridges across the Seine between the 7th and 8th arrondissement in Paris (France).
This site is served by the Invalides metro station by line (M) (8) (13) and the Invalides station (RER) (C).
It connects the Esplanade des Invalides and Avenue Winston-Churchill, where the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais are located.
This bridge is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander III (1845-1894).
Inaugurated for the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, the bridge was intended to symbolize Franco-Russian friendship, established by the signing of the alliance concluded in 1891 between Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894) and the president of the French Republic Sadi Carnot. The first stone was laid by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and President Félix Faure on October 7, 1896. The construction of this work of art was entrusted to the engineers Jean Résal, Amédée Alby and Joseph Grison, as well as to the architects Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousinn.
It is a 45 meter wide metal bridge made up of a single 107 meter arch including three points of articulation, allowing the Seine to be crossed without an intermediate support point. It relies on very massive abutments (44 m wide and 30 m thick), to resist the enormous horizontal thrust of the low-slung arch. These abutments are pierced with two stone tunnels for the circulation of the river. The exuberant decoration of the bridge is essentially based on the four pylons carrying gilded bronze equestrian groups.
The bridge has changed color several times; it went from gray to green-brown then to pearl gray. It returned to its original colors during its only restoration in 1998.
Next upstream: Pont de la Concorde
Next downstream: Pont des Invalides
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