Pont du Gard - Roman Aqueduct, which is located in the French department of Gard. The name literally means "the bridge over the Gard."

Pont du Gard is the highest surviving Roman aqueducts, amounting to 275 meters in length and 49 meters in height. Thus, the bridge is about the same height as a 16-storey modern building.

Pont du Gard is made of six-ton ​​stones, thus without the use of lime. It is thought that the Pont du Gard was built by the great general Marcus Agrippa - a friend of the emperor Octavian Augustus in 19 BC. However, according to current research, the construction of the bridge was completed only in the middle of the I century AD. Pont du Gard was part of the 50-kilometer water pipeline connecting the two ancient Roman city in the south of France - Nimes and Uzes.

Pont du Gard aqueduct is a three-tiered, with each tier are various number of arches: thirty-five arches in the top tier, where just ran water. In the middle tier has eleven arches, and the bottom - only six, with six of these arches bearing part is only one bridge. The width of the arch decreases as it approaches the shore.

According to current estimates, because of this aqueduct, the residents of Nîmes, which has about 50 thousand people every day could consume 400 liters of water each.

Pont du Gard aqueduct served as the fall of the Western Roman Empire, then it is sometimes used as a bridge. But already in the VIII century, the ancient aqueduct was almost put out of action: the wind and time have destroyed many of his plots, and local residents broke out stone for construction. In addition, in order to cross the bridge passing over the overall carts had hollow legs of the aqueduct, which could cause a collapse of the entire structure. However, the Pont du Gard stood for over a thousand years, and the movement of the Pont du Garou finally stopped only in 1747, when was built near modern bridge. And in 1855, the ancient aqueduct was restored on the orders of Napoleon III.

C 1985 Pont du Gard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is believed that this bridge is depicted on the reverse side of the banknote denominations of 5 euros.