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On The Bridge Of Avignon

iWalk. September 27th, 2007. Published under France. 320 views. 2 Comments.

I arrived Avignon during the time of Theatre Festival, with the famous song On The Bridge Of Avignon on the road. I want eagerly to see the The Saint Benezet’s Bridge which people can dance round and round.

The Saint Benezet’s Bridge is not far from the Palais des Papes.

The bridge was built in the Middle Ages - before the arrival of the Papacy - The legend of the bridge’s building is that a local shepherd, Benezet (a dialect form of Benedict) was inspired by angels to build a bridge. When his appeals to the town authorities proved fruitless, he picked up a vast block of stone and hurled it into the river, to be the bridge’s foundation stone. Convinced by this demonstration of divine will, the bridge was swiftly built. The poor shepherd boy was canonised, and his chapel remains on the surviving portion of the bridge.

But the bridge was destroyed by floods soon, Only 4 of the 22 arches now remain.

The well-known song “Sur Le Pont D’Avignon” (on the bridge at Avignon) refers to this bridge. The bridge itself is far too narrow for dancing or festivals - But It’s good enough to attract people all over the world.