New Bridge (Pont Neuf) description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

New bridge (Pont Neuf) description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Pont Neuf.

Photo and description

Despite its name, the Pont-Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest Parisian bridge over the Seine. It connects the Louvre embankment with the Conti embankment, and crosses the Cite Island in the middle.

In the 16th century, there were only four bridges in Paris, they were not enough, and the idea of building a new crossing was discussed under Henry II. They began to build under Henry III, and opened the Pont-Neuf by Henry IV in 1607.

Like most bridges of the time, the Pont-Neuf was built in the Romanesque style and is a series of short arched spans. It was the first stone bridge in Paris with amazing innovations: sidewalks for pedestrians were arranged on it, but no houses and shops were erected - Henry IV took special care so that nothing would block the view of the Louvre.

In 1614, by order of Marie de Medici, in the middle of the bridge, where it crosses the Cite, an equestrian statue of King Henry IV, then already killed, was erected. During the French Revolution, the monument was smashed and thrown into the Seine, but later Louis XVIII ordered to cast and erect a new statue, a copy of the previous one. She still stands there.

Of course, the merchants were very unhappy that the shops were not built and so much space wasted. However, life on the bridge was still in full swing. Musicians played, acrobats jumped, fire-eaters surprised the people, wandering doctors removed teeth and sold all sorts of drugs, royal recruiters of soldiers gave young men a drink, pickpockets dug in the crowd and prostitutes strolled. The Parisian police said that if for three days a person did not cross the Pont Neuf, then he was not in the city.

In the 50s of the 18th century, the newly appeared Grand Boulevards came into fashion, and Pont-Neuf gradually went out of fashion. In the middle of the 19th century, people already said that Pont Neuf had ceased to be an eternal fair, it is now just a bridge that you cross without stopping. Well, but he became safe, and he has always been beautiful.

The Parisians' love for the bridge did not pass. Pont-Neuf was written by the Impressionists, he was sung in poetry and songs, films were made about him, he is not just a bridge for a long time, he is one of the symbols of Paris.

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Topic: New Bridge (Pont Neuf) description and photos - France: Paris.