Tours · Strasbourg · Bridge
Ponts Couverts
The Ponts Couverts are three medieval stone bridges and four squat watchtowers that once formed the fortified western gateway to Strasbourg, guarding the point where the river Ill splits into four channels.
About this place
The Ponts Couverts are a line of three bridges and four stone towers thrown across the point where the river Ill fans out into four channels at the western edge of the old city. Begun around 1230 and finished by about 1250, they formed the fortified gateway guarding Strasbourg's river approaches, with crossbowmen sheltering under the wooden roofs that gave the bridges their name. Those roofs were removed in 1784, and the whole complex had already been outclassed in 1690 by Vauban's great dam just upstream. The towers endured, however, serving over the years as a prison and even a hangman's quarters, and they were classified as a historic monument in 1928. Seen from the water with the cathedral spire rising behind them, the four towers form one of the most recognisable silhouettes in all of Alsace.
Key facts
- 1250 year — The bridges and towers were completed after construction began around 1230
- 1928 year — The Ponts Couverts were classified as a protected historic monument
- 4 towers — Fortified stone towers still guard the four channels of the river Ill
📍 Ponts Couverts, 67000, Strasbourg