History of Saint Bénézet and of the Bridge of Avignon

In 1177, a young shepherd named Bénézet came down from the mountains of the Ardèche. He said he was sent by God to build a bridge in Avignon.

At first, people took him for a madman, but he had heard a voice from heaven telling him : "Bénézet, take your crook and go to Avignon, the capital by the water : you will speak to the inhabitants and you will tell them that a bridge must be built".

One Sunday holiday, while the bishop of Avignon gave his blessing on the square in front of Notre-Dame, Bénézet called to him : "Lord Bishop, I have been commissioned by the Almighty to build a bridge across the Rhône"...

Mocked by the Avignonnais, the shepherd was challenged by the prelate to take an enormous stone on his shoulders and throw it into the Rhône. Bénézet doesn't hesitate an instant, and watched by the amazed crowd, picked up the stone block and threw it into the water, helped, they say, by divine intervention, and even by angels bathed in golden light.

This beautiful legend of Saint Bénézet was passed down through popular beliefs, for the building of the bridge represented a challenge against the elements. The Saint Bénézet bridge is the oldest work constructed on the Rhône, between Lyon and the sea, in the 12th century.

The Saint Bénézet bridge, commonly called the bridge of Avignon outside of Avignon itself, is a bridge built between 1177 and 1185, linking the town of Avignon to the Saint-Bénézet chapel. 920 meters long, it had 22 arches and mesured 4 meters wide.

In 1226, after the terrible siege laid by Louis VIII against the city, the bridge was three quarters destroyed. A few years later, despite interdictions, the Avignonnais got down to the job and rebuilt it. Of the precedent bridge, only the chapel called the low chapel remains. Because the roadway of the second bridge was raised, the St Nicolas chapel is called the upper chapel since it was built on this new roadway.

In the 17th century, the city could no longer bear the costs of maintennce and repair. In 1603, following strong flooding of the Rhône, one arch fell down, then three others in 1605. Repair work did not start until 1628, interrupted by a plague epidemic, and the bridge was not usable until 1633. Two months later, two more arches were swept away by the Rhône. At that time, diverse means were used to cross the river. An island, today called Ile de la Barthelasse, formd in the middle of th river bed. People left from the Philippe le Bel tower, situated in Villeneuve-lés-Avignon in the French kingdom (on the right bank of the Rhône), crossing to the island by ferry. They then crossed the island on foot following a path which led, by way of wooden stairs, to the bridge's 4 remaining arches to finally reach the city of Avignon.

The bridge risked collapse so often that the relics of Saint Bénézet were taken out of the St Nicolas chapel in 1674. They were transferred to the Celestine cloisters.

After being moved several times, and a desecration in 1791, only a little bit of his remains still exist. They are kept in the cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms.

Of the bridge itself, there only remains the four famous arches and the Philippe le Bel tower, on the Villeneuve-les-Avignon side, and of course the famous song known around the world.