La Durance and le Pont de Mirabeau

La Durance - looking north from La Chapelle Sainte-Madeleine 

I wanted to tell you a little about the Durance river because of a walk we took last weekend.  Several times we have passed by the bridge supports, a little chapel and what seemed like a trail along the river, I was intrigued and I wanted to see more.  We were able to go exploring there last weekend and the weather was perfect for a nice walk.  

http://www.irstea.fr/nos-editions/dossiers/eau/changement-climatique

http://www.lesechos.fr/18/08/1998/LesEchos/17711-065-ECH_la-durance--ex-fleau-de-la-provence.htm

La Durance is a "fleuve" in the south of France that has its headwaters in the southwest Alps near the city of Briançon and is a tributary to the Rhone river.  The French word "fleuve" is given to rivers that are tributaries and flow into another river.

Living in Sainte-Tulle, whenever I go anywhere I am conscious of the canals and the Durance river. We are always weaving around the canals, finding the closest bridge or underpass.  I pass by water generated power stations every day. There are signs everywhere reminding that people are not allowed to walk on the canals or in the river beds because of the possibility of flash floods.  In this part of France, the canals and dams are used to distribute water, create energy, and moderate the flow of water to prevent floods. The dams can be opened up to control water levels causing waves to run through the riverbed without notification. People have been killed and injured when this happens and even though the water looks safe, it can be dangerous in an instant.  

On our walk, the first thing we saw was the supports for the old Pont de Mirabeau. There is something that draws me to these towers, they make me think of stories I've read.  These structures once held the cables of a suspended bridge.  They were beautiful edifices constructed between the narrowest part of the valley.  Today the modern bridge spans the river between the old structures.

My husband and daughter saw some stairs carved into the hill behind the bridge supports and climbed up to discover where the cables were once anchored into the hill.

When they climbed up the stairway, they found the gallery and chambers where the cables were wrapped around and anchored to the rock/mountain.






Because this is one of the narrowest points on the Durance, there have been several bridges located here.  In the top post card, you can see the suspension bridge built in 1835 and its towers on both banks of the Durance.  In the lower postcard, you can see the old suspension towers next to a more recent suspension bridge that was built in 1935.  The bridge that is currently in use was built in 1987.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Ponts_de_mirabeau.jpg

We started walking south on the right bank of the Durance, following a rocky path.  We soon came upon the railroad tracks that are currently used today to go to Manosque.  We even had the opportunity to wave to a passing train!

My husband and daughter were interested in looking at the different kinds of railroad ties.  We stopped to inspect the ruins on the side of the trail.

 

As we were walking we came upon a memorial for two people who were gunned down by the Gestapo in 1944.  It was a moving remembrance to see the simple memorial on a trail in the middle of nowhere.

Here were shot by the Gestapo 21/6/1944
Joseph(1924) and Émilie(1920) BEINARD

We continued south on the trail for about one mile and turned around.  We went back to the bridge and looked for the Sainte-Madeleine Chapel.  The chapel was built between the 11th and 12th centuries.  Its simple roman architecture is accentuated by its emplacement on a rocky bluff overlooking the Durance.  The chapel has been used by pilgrims and travelers as a resting point for hundreds of years.  Later it was used as storage during the Revolution.  It was restored in 1948.

We walked around the chapel and found a gauge to measure the water of the Durance.  Looking at the river you would think it is impossible for the water to rise that high.  But flooding of the Durance has destroyed many bridges with its violent waters. According to the website lesechos.fr - Brigitte Challiol wrote an article about the Durance.  She says that the Durance, a violent river, was able to be tamed.  Thanks to the river, water and electricity were brought to many households in Provence.

I have a respectful understanding for the Durance river. La Durance has shaped this area, with its large flood plains, seemingly shallow river flow and rocky deposits. I understand why there are signs warning about possible flooding from the dams that control the flow of the river.  I understand why there have been so many Ponts de Mirabeau over the years. It will be difficult in the summer, when it is Provençal hot, to refrain from jumping in the cool waters of the Durance, but I will remember.