During the 1900 World’s Fair a bridge was built in order to link the esplanade des Invalides to the Champs-Elysées. It’s the Alexander III bridge, which bears the name of a Russian tsar to celebrate the friendship between France and Russia following the signing of an alliance between the two countries in 1891.
The first stone was laid in 1896 by tsar Nicholas II, his successor, his wife the empress, and the French President of that time, Félix Faure.
This bridge was the only monument completed on time for the World’s Fair. It’s 115 meters long and 40 meters wide. Its major particularity is that is doesn’t sit on piers in the Seine. As a matter of fact, the 15 steel arches supporting it only rest on the banks. Architects faced another challenge : to make the bridge low enough to preserve the view on the esplanade des Invalides.
