You are standing at Pont Alexandre III, the most ornate and extravagant bridge in Paris.
The name "Pont Alexandre" comes from the fact that "pont" is the French word for bridge,
so the name simply means "the bridge of Alexander III".
The bridge was constructed at the same time as the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, as a
part of the 1900 World Exposition.
The bridge has a typical Art Nouveau style, with charming lamps, nymphs and angels along
the sides.
The construction of this beautiful bridge was between the years 1896 and 1900.
As with many others of the World Exposition buildings, the bridge is a marvel of 19th
century engineering.
The bridge is built with the rare method of using a single 6 meter high steel arch and
counterweights on each side to balance it up.
As hinted by its name, the bridge is named after Alexander III, who was the Russian Tsar
responsible for signing the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892, an important alliance as
it ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German
Empire.
Alexandre III:s son, the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, laid the foundation stone during
the start of the construction in October 1896 and later attended the opening ceremony in
1900.
The meaning of the bridge, and its French-Russian connection, can not only be heard through
the name of the bridge, but also by looking at it.
Even though it can be hard to spot while standing on it, the bridge is decorated by two large
copper statues on each side along the bridge at the center of the arch.
The statue on the side looking towards the Eiffel Tower shows two nymphs of Seine and
in the middle a golden ship.
The ship is a part of the Parisian coat of arms and is placed there to symbolize the
French side of the Alliance.
On the other side of the bridge you will find two nymphs of the Russian river Neva and in
the middle a golden version of the Russian coat of arms.
This served as a symbol of the Russian side of the Alliance.
The statues were created by George Récipon, the same man who created the statues on top
of Grand Palais.
While the copper statues at the arch of the bridge are beautiful, the main feature of
the bridge is of course the four 17 meters-high pillars with its shining gilded statues.
Each one of these statues has a specific name and each one stands for a specific period
of Frances history.
On the north bank, the golden statue standing closest to Grand Palais is called "Fame of
Agriculture".
The sculpture at the base of the pillar is called "La France pacifique" -- "Peaceful
France".
The statue on the Petit Palais side of the north bank is called "Fame of Arts" and the
statue at the pillar is called "Charlemagne's France".
On the other side of the bridge, the pillar closer to the Eiffel Tower Tower is called
"Fame of Battle" and the statue at the base "La France de la Renaissance"- "Renaissance
of France".
The last golden statue is called "Fame of War" and the statue at its base is known as
"Louis XIV's France" At each base of the pillars you can also see carvings which describes
the historic period the specific pillar represent.
One might think that the main purpose of these pillars is simply to serve as decorations,
but this is however not the case.
The pillars actually play an important role in making sure that the bridge stays intact,
as they act as counterweights for the bridge which provides balance to the structure.
So the pillars are a smart way of combining something useful with something beautiful.