Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Old Bridge of Thouars and its poterne constitute a medieval work dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, located in the Deux-Sèvres department. This complex consists of two distinct parts: one crossing the Thouet, the other an old dried arm of the river, forming a fortified island. The foundations could be earlier, but the current structure, of cut stones and rubble, has double-rolled broken arches for the first part, and full arches for the second. A central fortification, probably equipped with a drawbridge subsequently replaced by a metal bridge, demonstrates its defensive role.

The island between the two arms of Thouet retains remains of towers and walls, suggesting a strategic function in the Thuars defensive system. The masonries, in small apparatus for trimmings and in internal blocking, reveal partial reconstructions, especially for the arches on the countryside. The bridge, now reserved for pedestrians and cyclists, illustrates the military and civil architecture of the Plantagenets in Poitou, in an area marked by medieval conflicts and river exchanges.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1938, the site attests to the importance of fortified crossings in medieval urban planning. Its present state, although modified over the centuries, allows us to study construction techniques and defensive adaptations between the Middle Ages and the modern epoch. The sources also mention links with the plantage fortifications, studied by historians such as Marie-Pierre Baudry, highlighting its integration into a wider territorial control network.

External links