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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Mirabeau's suspension bridge, located between Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône, was built to replace a medieval trailing ferry used since the 13th century. This strategic place, in the Canteperdrix parade, saw several bridges destroyed by the Durance floods (1440, 1635, 1843, 1881), reflecting the challenges posed by this river at the extreme flows. The current piles, built in 1845 after the collapse of the bridge of 1835, are the last remains of the work designed by Jean-François Théophile Sauzet, characterized by its neo-roman portals.

The first suspended bridge, delivered in 1831 with a range of 150 metres, was carried away by a flood in 1843. Reconstructed in 1845, it was granted to Chaffard after a trial between Sauzet, who refused to bear the costs of repair alone. The toll, lucrative, earned 28 000 francs per year for an investment of 210,000 francs. During the First World War, the bridge was destroyed and replaced in 1935 by a reinforced concrete structure decorated with sculptures symbolizing the four riparian departments.

During the Second World War, the resistors blew up the bridge on 17 August 1944 to obstruct the German retreat. A temporary bridge was installed by the Allies three days later. The suspended bridge, rebuilt in 1947, was definitively replaced in 1989 by the current slab bridge. The neo-Roman piles of 1845, classified as historical monuments in 1988, today recall this turbulent history, linked to the strategic and economic stakes of the Durance crossing.

The site is also associated with a popular Provencal song, At Mirabèu bridge, evoking a local legend where a young lavender girl, Catharina, loses a ring offered by a knight. This melody, with Occitan variants, illustrates the intangible cultural heritage linked to the monument. The friezes of the old pillars, representing the neighbouring departments (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Vaucluse), are now exposed near the current giratory.

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