engineering

Pont du Diable (Céret)

Pont du Diable (Céret) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pont du Diable (Céret) rather than just read about it. In short: The Pont du Diable (English: Devil's Bridge) or Pont Vieux (English: Old bridge) is a medieval stone arch bridge at Céret, France, built between 1321 and 1341. It spans the Tech River with a single arch of 45.45 metres (149.1 ft).

Key takeaways

Pont du Diable (Céret) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pont du Diable (Céret) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pont du Diable (Céret) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Pont du Diable (English: Devil's Bridge) or Pont Vieux (English: Old bridge) is a medieval stone arch bridge at Céret, France, built between 1321 and 1341. It spans the Tech River with a single arch of 45.45 metres (149.1 ft). At its apex, the arch is 22.3 metres (73 ft) high.

History At the time of its construction it became the world's largest bridge arch, being bigger than the Ponte della Maddalena in Italy which held the world record until then. It remained so until 1356, when the Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona (Italy) became the new largest bridge. Damaged during the war of the First Coalition (1792–1797), French general Luc Siméon Auguste Dagobert wanted to blow it up to keep the Spanish army from going back to Catalonia. The bridge was saved just before being destroyed thanks to the action of Representative Joseph Cassanyes and restored later.

Legend The locals wanted a bridge to be built across the river and called upon the devil to build it for them. The devil agreed on the condition that he would claim the first soul to cross the bridge. Once the bridge was built the locals sent a cat across for the devil to claim its soul. Then for many years afterwards no person would cross, just in case – a legend common to many devil's bridges in France.

In arts The bridge was painted by Paul Cézanne and Auguste Herbin. It features in a scene from the film The Hunchback by André Hunebelle, in which three swordsmen are sent to Spain to kill Lagardère and the daughter of the Duke of Nevers.

Gallery

See also List of bridges in France List of medieval bridges in France Other very large medieval bridges

Puente del Diablo (Martorell) (37.3 m span) Ponte della Maddalena (37.8 m span) Puente de San Martín (Toledo) (40 m span) Nyons Bridge (40.53 m span) Castelvecchio Bridge (48.7 m span) Pont Grand (Tournon-sur-Rhône) (49.2 m span) Pont de Vieille-Brioude (54.2 m span) Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge (72 m span)

References

External links

Pont du Diable (Céret) at Structurae "Pont du Diable". brueckenweb.de (in German). Ceret virtual Tours

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pont du Diable (Céret)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pont du Diable (Céret) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pont du Diable (Céret) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pont du Diable (Céret) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pont du Diable (Céret)

In research: Pont du Diable (Céret) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pont du Diable (Céret) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pont du Diable (Céret) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bridges completed in the 14th century, Bridges in France, Buildings and structures completed in 1341, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pont du Diable (Céret) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pont du Diable (Céret) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pont du Diable (Céret) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pont du Diable (Céret) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pont du Diable (Céret) in simple terms?

Why does Pont du Diable (Céret) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pont du Diable (Céret)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pont du Diable (Céret).