A long time ago one could cross Penfeld River
thanks to small, flimsy and sea-unworthy boats - that crossing was quite
dangerous
"C'était bien autre chose, jadis, avant qu'existât le grand
pont. Brest et Recouvrance étaient deux villes distinctes. On passait
la Penfeld sur un bac à péage qui reliait la cale de la Rose
au débouché de la rue Neuve. Nombreux étaient ceux qui
ne traversaient la rivière que deux ou trois fois l'an : pour la fête
de l'Empereur, la Fête-Dieu ou autres occasions solennelles."
François Ménez
First comes the idea of a floating bridge, but in the end,
the one of building a real bridge was accepted. Amongst the various plans
proposed to the Civil Engineering Minister, Cadiat and Oudry's was accepeted
on the 1rst may 1854. Building works began 2 years later, because the
2 metal and moving "arms" of 52 meters and 750 tons each - had
to be produced by Schneider's workshop in Creusot. On the 23rd of June
1861, day of the opening, both riversides were linked
During the battle for Brest in 1944, the bridge was destroyed
It
was only on the 17th of July 1954 that the National Bridge (swing bridge)
was replaced by the Recouvrance Bridge. It's the biggest movable bridge
in Europe