Pont-Vieux (Old Bridge)

About

The Pont-Vieux is a bridge over the Aude in Carcassonne.

History: The oldest document on the bridge dates back to 1184. Roger Trencavel authorizes the inhabitants of the city to build a new bridge provided they ensure the cost. By his will in 1194, he retained only the principle of his toll which he limited to an annual payment of two measures of wheat. This bridge, built in about ten years, was to be made of wood. Jacques-Alphonse Mahul pointed out that the bridge to which this act refers must be the Bridge of the King's Mill on the old arm of the Aude.

The Albigeian Crusade had to destroy this bridge. The inhabitants of Carcassonne return after seven years of exile. The king had the town around the ramparts destroyed, the Aude turned away, and the swamps cleaned up. Louis IX authorized the inhabitants to build the lower town. A new bridge is needed. At the beginning of the 14th century, the king authorized the inhabitants to build a stone bridge. The works are financed by a right of barragium and pavagium. This is what appears in a letter from King Philip V of 6 September 1318 where he authorizes...