Pont du Diable, Hérault

The Pont du Diable on the river Hérault is one of many bridges in France with this name (it means Devil's bridge). It is located over a steep-sided gorge, about 4 km north-west of Aniane in the Hérault département.^[1]

Constructed by Benedictine monks in the first half of the 11th century, it provided a link between the abbey at Aniane and the Gellone Abbey at Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. Though subsequently widened and raised several metres around 1770, it has retained its original shape.^[1] Vehicular traffic is now catered for by a newer bridge, from which splendid views may be had of the original bridge and an aqueduct that takes water to the vineyards of Saint-Jean-de-Fos.^[2]

The bridge has been listed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique since 1935^[1] and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.^[2]

There are two other bridges in Hérault known as "Pont du Diable", at Olargues and at Villemagne-l'Argentière.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Base Mérimée: Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
^ ^a ^b Michelin: Green Guide Languedoc, Roussillon, Tarn Gorges (1998) p. 194