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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Twin Bridges designate three Toulouse bridges listed as historical monuments, located at the port of the Empbouchure, at the junction of the neighborhoods Compans-Caffarelli, Bridges-Jumps, Seven Deniers and the Amides. They span respectively the Canal du Midi (centre), the Canal de Brienne (south) and the Lateral Canal à la Garonne (north), forming a classic architectural ensemble marked by an allegorical bas-relief in Carrara marble.

The project was born in the 17th century with the realization of the Royal Canal du Languedoc (futur Canal du Midi), dug by Pierre-Paul Riquet to connect the Mediterranean with the Atlantic via Toulouse. The port of the Empbouchure, built from 1670, allows the junction with the Garonne, but the obstacle of the Bazacle limits the navigation upstream. A century later, Archbishop Étienne-Charles de Loménie de Brienne financed the Saint-Pierre Canal (1776), dug by Joseph-Marie de Saget, to circumvent this problem.

The first two twin bridges, built between 1771 and 1774 by Saget, replaced an existing bridge that had become obsolete. Their classic style (arch in basket handle, stone parapet) was enhanced in 1775 by a bas-relief by François Lucas, allegory of Occitanie and canals. The ensemble was inaugurated in 1776. In the 19th century, the lateral canal at la Garonne (1857), designed by Jean-Baptiste de Baudre, added a third bridge, completing the hemicircular composition of the port.

The site played a strategic role at the Battle of Toulouse (10 April 1814), where a dread at the Ponts-Jumeaux was fiercely defended against the Anglo-Hispano-Portuguese troops of Wellington. Despite the local French victory, the city was evacuated the next day. In the 20th century, the development of the Peripheral (1970s) buried the historic lock and isolated the basin of the Garonne, while preserving the bridges, inscribed with historical monuments in 1967.

Lucas' bas-relief, a masterpiece of river heritage, represents Occitanie (allegory of the states of Languedoc) ordering geniuses to dig the canals, surrounded by the Garonne (cornucopia) and a panorama of Toulouse with the dome of the Chartreux. A symbol of prosperity, it celebrates the link between trade, agriculture and urbanity. It also illustrates the technical challenges of waterways, from the Garonne floods to topographical constraints.

Today, the Bridges-Jumps give their name to a residential area, a motorway interchange (exit 30 from the ring road), and a former mythical stadium of the Stade Toulosain, where historical matches took place such as the defeat of the French team against New Zealand in 1925. Their protection (1967) and their inclusion in the general inventory (1995) underline their heritage value, combining civil engineering, art and economic memory of Languedoc.

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