Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The bridge of Isle Auger, located in Chambbourg-sur-Indre en Indre-et-Loire, is a medieval structure whose construction is estimated between the 13th and 15th centuries. It crossed the Indre near an ancient ford, used since Roman times to cross the river via a road linking Loches to Tours. Although often misclassified as a "Roman bridge" because of its proximity to this ford, its name Insula Ogeris appeared in texts only at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Its construction was probably a response to the need to replace the impracticable pits with the rising waters of Indre, caused by the dams of the medieval mills installed on the river.

The current remains, listed as historical monuments since 1927, are limited to two non-contiguous arches and four piles, some of which still support portions of Gothic vaults. The bridge, 2.80 m wide and originally about 60 m long for six arches, collapsed partially before the 19th century. His rubble was used to build a temporary ford, which became final after the repairs were abandoned. The Napoleonic cadastre already mentions it as a ruin, and an archive of 1883 evokes a dispute related to its right of way, possibly linked to the adjacent ford.

A local tradition, unverified, combines the bridge with Jeanne d'Arc, who would have taken this route in 1429 to join Chinon after his victory in Orléans. However, its exact route between Gien and Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois remains uncertain. The bridge is represented on the map of François de Belleforest (1575) and appears in sources as a strategic work, although its use declined to the benefit of the passages at Loches and Azay-sur-Indre. Its ruins, accessible since the D25, testify to medieval construction techniques in large and medium-sized apparatus.

No architectural studies have made it possible to date the bridge precisely, but its construction seems to be linked to the rise of the mills on Indre in the Middle Ages. The dams of these mills, raising the level of the river, made the existing sheds unusable, requiring the construction of bridges. An undated ford, revealed in 1989 downstream by aerial prospecting, confirms the historical importance of this crossing point. Today, the remains, owned by the commune, are reduced to piles and arches partially buried under the vegetation.

External links