Pont d'Iéna, Stone bridge between 7th and 16th districts, Paris, France.
The Pont d'Iéna is a stone arch bridge over the Seine linking the Eiffel Tower to the Trocadéro. Its five arches, each with a 28-metre span, rest on four intermediate piers, and the tympana carry imperial eagles carved by Jean-François Mouret after designs by François-Frédéric Lemot. Widened to about 35 metres for the 1937 World's Fair, it is now reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.
Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the construction of this bridge in 1806 to celebrate the French victory at the Battle of Jena against Prussian forces. It became an important symbol of Napoleon's military triumphs.
The four equestrian statues placed at the bridge ends in 1853 represent a Gallic warrior by Antoine-Augustin Préault and a Roman warrior by Louis-Joseph Daumas on the Right Bank, and an Arab warrior by Jean-Jacques Feuchère and a Greek warrior by François-Théodore Devaulx on the Left Bank. The bridge's name commemorates Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806.
The bridge is accessible to both pedestrians and vehicles, connecting the Eiffel Tower on the left bank with the Trocadero Gardens on the right bank. Visitors can enjoy good views of the river valley and surrounding architecture from either end.
In 1815 Prussian Marshal Blücher wanted to blow up the bridge because its name commemorated a French victory over Prussia. Talleyrand wrote to Tsar Alexander I, who agreed to inaugurate it himself under the name Pont de l'École-Militaire; Blücher could not destroy a bridge inaugurated by an ally. Louis-Philippe later restored the name Iéna.
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