The Napoleon Bridge

On July 29, 1808, Napoleon I arrived in Moissac, crossing the Tarn River on a pontoon bridge.
Since the Wars of Religion and floods, previous structures had been destroyed, and the perilous crossing was made by ferry. Work began quickly but ceased with the fall of the First Empire (1814). It resumed in 1820 and culminated in the inauguration of the Marie-Thérèse Bridge on December 19, 1824. It was named in honor of the Dauphine, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who is said to have laid the keystone of the bridge. It finally became the “Pont Napoléon” in 1859, after Napoleon III's visit to Moissac.