A Landerneau, in Finistère, the Rohan bridge, built in 1510 and 70 meters long, is one of the very last inhabited bridges in Europe. But the weight of centuries and the onslaught of the tide weaken the building.
In the Middle Ages, inhabited bridges were “commonplace”, explains Magali Prigent, in charge of heritage at the city. “The habitat was very concentrated, we used every square meter, for the inhabitants but also for the traders because the bridges are by definition places of passage”.
From the 18th century, due to the risk of fire, insalubrity or the embellishment of towns, bridges gradually disappeared from the urban landscape. With rare exceptions, such as the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, or the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt, Germany. In Landerneau, a town of 17,000 inhabitants, it has withstood four fires and the vicissitudes of history.
Pharmacist, bookseller, cafeteria, crepe maker have over time replaced miller, saddler, cloth merchant and goldsmith. The prison no longer exists. As for the mill, it was replaced by a rental building at the end of the 19th century.
“Now there are about fifteen inhabitants. We live there a bit like in a bubble, almost in autonomy, with shops around: there is a real life of the bridge, a trader owner was nicknamed the mayor of the bridge! “, smiles the (real) mayor Patrick Leclerc (various right), who lived there nearly ten years.
Suzanne Colangelo, 77, has lived for twenty years on the 3rd floor in a pretty apartment. From her kitchen, she can contemplate “the superb sunsets”, towards Brest, sea side.
Because the Rohan bridge also has the singularity of being located between the fresh water of the Elorn river and the sea water coming from the ocean.
“There is a form of struggle between the sea and the river. And you can hear the young people in canoeing passes under the bridge and my store, it’s quite funny”, laughs Bernard Bouguen, 74, bookseller . Another crisp anecdote: “sometimes people come down from the street opposite and arrive in the shop to ask me where the bridge is located! I tell them + but you are there +!”, The water not always being visible from the street crossing the bridge.
between tides and river floods
But living in an atypical place also carries its share of annoyances. Also, in the bookstore, the shelves filled with Pléiade, Charlie Hebdo and old books are enhanced with bricks to ward off any flooding.
“Beyond its five centuries, the bridge undergoes tides and river floods. Once every two years, there is ten centimeters of water”, recalls Patrick Leclerc, nephew of Édouard Leclerc.
Another sign of the fragility of this unique bridge, unsightly concrete blocks are visible at the foot of one of the six arches.
On August 20, an incident caused noise in Landerneau: a landslide on a wall created a breach in an arch. Concrete blocks have been laid to consolidate the structure, pending a full analysis and larger work. A restaurant had to close its terrace.
Another pitfall to carry out the work, the multitude of owners, including the departmental council, owner of the roadway, in charge of the solidity of the arches, because the current pedestrian street was a departmental road. It was not until 1958 for the construction of a second bridge in the city.
And, next to one of the two entrances to the bridge, nearly 10,000 vehicles per day circulate, a situation that irritates residents and traders.
The town hall, which hopes for an upcoming classification of the bridge to historic monuments, wishes to restore luster to the symbol of the city, rehabilitate the facades, install new lighting, rework the street furniture, reduce traffic in the surroundings and find a place to explain its unique story.
21/11/2021 11:10:24 – Landerneau (France) (AFP) – © 2021 AFP
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