Tuesday, April 09, 2013

The bridge at Saint-Aignan

This is the southern span of the bridge that crosses the Cher River at Saint-Aignan. It crosses over to an island in the river, then there's another bridge that crosses from the island over to the northern side. This span doubles as a dam. Not long ago, there was a mill on the southern (left in this photo) end of the bridge and the water turned the mill stones. The mill was closed and later burned down. It was demolished in 1974.

The bridge between Saint-Aignan and Noyers-sur-Cher. The building on the right, this side of the bridge, is a bar and restaurant.

On the right side of the bridge under the wide, flattened arch, there is a lock so that boats can move between the upper part of the river and the lower part. I've never seen it used. There isn't much boat traffic on this part of the river these days, unless you count kayaks.

Here's a video about the mill. It's in French, but even if you don't understand what's being said, the pictures are pretty cool, especially because it's all about where we live. You may recognize some of the places shown in my photos!

10 comments:

  1. Actually last year we saw a canal type houseboat here, and the day before it had been at Chenonceaux.

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    1. susan, wow! I've not see that. There is an excursion boat here at St.-Aignan but I've only ever seen it go up river, not down through the lock.

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    2. We didn't see it doing the locks, just moored in both places on consecutive days, and we've only seen it once. It appeared to be a private boat. I was very surprised, as I thought the river was for all practical purposes unnavigable now.

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  2. Thank you for the video. I had the impression that the mill was located on the middle of the bridge. Now, I'll never see Saint-Aignan the same way ever again.

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  3. Wow, thanks for that informative video Walt...it woke up a lot of my French to keep up with what was being said.
    I especially loved the old architectural drawings, so neat and precise.
    I've always had a fondness for old photos, so it was nice to get a glimpse of St.Aignan way back when....thanks.

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  4. What a great history lesson! I also love how the historian speaks.

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  5. That video is a gem! Love the old photo of the women washing their clothes in the river. You are living in history.

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  6. One assumes you guys have eaten at that restaurant?

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  7. chm, I wondered if you had seen it before.

    virginiac, glad you enjoyed it.

    nadege, :)

    evelyn, aren't we all! ;)

    starman, actually, no. We've had drinks there a number of years ago. It's changed hands several times.

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  8. Great post. Really enjoyed the video :-)

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