Pont du Navire

Pont du Navire is a stone bridge in Thiers, a town in the Puy-de-Dôme department long known as the historic capital of French cutlery-making. It spans the Durolle river in the Moûtier quarter, and ranks among the handful of old crossings that still shape the character of this part of town.

What does the bridge look like, and where does its name come from?

The structure rests on three stone arches with an asymmetrical, semicircular profile, carried by two piers fitted with sturdy rounded cutwaters facing both upstream and downstream currents. The parts in direct contact with the water — the pier bases and the arch vaults themselves — were built from dressed stone laid in regular courses, a mix of bluish-grey granite and yellowish arkose typical of the local building tradition.

The name "ship bridge" has nothing to do with actual navigation on the Durolle. For centuries the bridge went by a different name: old records refer to it as "Pont Oschon," which in the Auvergnat dialect roughly translates as "cabbage bridge." The current name only dates to the mid-1980s, when an international symposium of monumental metal sculpture was held in Thiers and a metal sculpture in the shape of a ship was erected right beside the bridge, just downstream. That sculpture is what gave the crossing its present name, Pont du Navire, though the older label Pont du Moûtier still circulates alongside it.

When was it built, and what role does it play today?

Dating the bridge precisely is difficult, but historians place its construction somewhere between the early 16th and the first half of the 17th century. Alongside the Pont Vieux, Pont Saint-Jean, and Pont de Seychalles, it is one of the oldest surviving crossings in Thiers, a reminder of the era when the town grew along the steep banks of the Durolle. The bridge still carries traffic today, though only in one direction, and the structure itself is protected as a historic monument.

Why do Thiers and the Durolle river matter so much to the town's history?

Thiers has been known for centuries as the capital of French cutlery. The narrow valley carved by the Durolle, with its steep drop and fast-running rapids, powered the waterwheels of local workshops from the Middle Ages onward — that hydraulic force is what let grinders and blacksmiths shape steel and turn out knives on a scale that made Thiers famous across France. Pont du Navire, crossing that same river at the heart of the Moûtier quarter, sits just steps from the old cutlery workshops, several of which have since become museums or craft studios. Walking through the old town and over the bridge makes it easy to see how closely the layout of Thiers followed the rhythm of the river below it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is the Pont du Navire located? The bridge stands in the Moûtier quarter of Thiers, in the Puy-de-Dôme department, crossing the Durolle river.

Why is it called the "ship bridge"? The name refers to a metal ship sculpture installed next to the bridge in the mid-1980s during a monumental sculpture symposium. Before that, it was known as Pont Oschon or Pont du Moûtier.

How old is the bridge? Historians date its construction to somewhere between the early 16th and the first half of the 17th century, making it one of the oldest bridges in Thiers.

Can you still drive across it? Yes, but traffic runs in one direction only, due to the bridge's narrow historic construction.