The Pont d'Avignon, officially called the Pont Saint-Bénezet, was built between 1177 and 1185 by the Frères pontifes, a religious group, replacing an older Roman bridge. According to legend, a man named Bénezet oversaw the construction. In 1184, a chapel dedicated to Saint Bénezet was built inside one of the bridge’s piers, near Avignon. The bridge was later destroyed in 1226 by King Louis VIII during a military campaign against the Albigensians, but it was soon rebuilt using stone. A second chapel, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was added on top of the earlier one. The structure continued to be altered over time until its final abandonment in 1679, as noted by the Region Sud heritage inventory. Some sources, like Wikipedia, suggest that the bridge was abandoned due to a flood in 1668 or 1669, but the date of 1679 refers to the definitive end of its use, not a sudden collapse. The bridge originally connected Avignon (in the Vaucluse department) to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (in the Gard department) across the Rhône River. It was 920 meters long and 4 meters wide, according to the Region Sud inventory, while Wikipedia states it was 900 meters. Today, only four arches remain. The number of original arches is debated, with the inventory listing 23 and other sources, including Wikipedia, citing 22. Since its abandonment in 1679, the bridge no longer connects the two towns. Instead, a bac à traille, a boat pulled by a cable stretched between the two banks, became the new means of crossing. The song Sur le pont d'Avignon has been around since the 15th century and gained popularity in 1853 when it was included in Adolphe Adam’s operetta Le Sourd ou l'Auberge pleine. The version children sing today uses the word "on," while an older version says "under." According to Wikipedia, the dances described in the song originally took place on the banks of the river, not on the bridge itself, which was too narrow for the circular dance mentioned in the lyrics. Some older people still sing the version that says "under the bridge," though there is no confirmed evidence that dances took place on the island of Barthelasse. The bridge, which crossed the two arms of the Rhône and the island from the 17th century, is noted in the inventory for this detail. In the 19th century, the view of the bridge’s ruins changed, and restoration efforts began in October 1828 based on plans by Caristie, a district engineer, from 1825. The Mérimée notice, a French inventory of historic monuments, dates the structure to the 12th century and notes its classification as a historic monument in 1840, with ownership belonging to the local commune. Today, the remaining arches, along with the two chapels built on the third pier and the Tour du Châtelet, can be seen on the Avignon side of the river. The bridge now ends above the water, and the song continues to be sung with the word "on," a version that became standard in the 19th century.