Jena Bridge
Pont d’Iéna—Jena Bridge—carries you across the Seine between the Left Bank near the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro side on the Right Bank. It begins with Napoleon I’s ambition: in 1807, an imperial decree ordered a new bridge overlooking the Military School, naming it for his 1806 victory at the Battle of Jena. The design uses five stone arches, each with an arc length of 28 meters, supported by four intermediate piers, and the first phase of construction ran from 1808 to 1814, fully financed by the State. During the Allied occupation of Paris, Prussian General Blücher aimed to destroy the bridge because it bore a French victory over Prussia. The Prefect appealed up to Talleyrand; in the end, Tsar Alexander agreed to inaugurate the bridge under a new name—Pont de l’École militaire—so Blücher could not strike it down after an Ally’s ceremony. …
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