Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf (German: New Bridge ) is the oldest bridge over the Seine in Paris that has been preserved in its original state . Construction began in 1578 and lasted until 1607.
Bridge data
.jpg)
The arch bridge is 238 m long and 20 m wide. It connects the Quai du Louvre on the right bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement with the Quai de Conti and the Quai des Grands Augustins on the left bank of the Seine in the 6th arrondissement . In the middle it crosses the western tip of the Île de la Cité . To the right of the Seine it is continued by the Rue du Pont Neuf , to the left of the Seine by the Rue Dauphine .
history
In the middle of the 16th century there were only four bridges in Paris, the Petit Pont , Pont Notre-Dame , Pont Saint-Michel and Pont au Change . The construction of another - new - bridge, which was to connect the Louvre with the market town that emerged from the Abbey of St. Germain-des-Prés , became more and more urgent, as the extensive city traffic had already caused great damage to the existing bridges, which were also still were completely built up with houses.
King Heinrich II had already considered building a new bridge in 1556, but his plan failed for a long time due to resistance from Parisian merchants. Only more than twenty years later, on the evening of May 31, 1578, did King Heinrich III. the foundation stone for the fifth Paris bridge, the main feature of which should be that it should not have any houses or shops on it. So one should cross it and at the same time be able to see the His flowing under it. This had never happened in Paris and met with rejection from the Parisian merchants, who mourned the unused sales room on the bridge.
The bridge, an asymmetrical combination of round arches, was designed by Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau . Their spans, which were between 9 and 19 meters, varied in comparison to each other as well as in the upstream and downstream sides of the same arch.
The bridge was finally completed after almost thirty years of construction during the reign of King Henry IV . Even with the Pont Henri IV in Châtellerault, which was completed only two years later, and the Pont Neuf in Toulouse , which was only completed 25 years later, no development was permitted despite its similar width.
Under Napoleon III. the bridge foundations were completely rebuilt. The arches over the northern arm of the river were designed elliptically .
In 1985 the bridge was covered by the artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude . The preparatory phase for this project had taken ten years, which was partly due to the fact that the consent of the then mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac , had to be obtained.
particularities
Pont Neuf was the first bridge that continuously connected the banks and did not continue a road that was offset on one of the islands. Since there were almost no houses on it, one could see the Seine again and again when crossing it, but there were also a few sales houses above the pillars. A pump tower called La Samaritaine housed pumps for the water supply of the Jardin des Tuileries until 1813 , see Nicolas Raguenet's painting. In addition, it was the first time in Paris that sidewalks were separated from the driving area on both sides.
In the middle of the bridge is an equestrian statue of Henry IV , a sculpture by François-Frédéric Lemot (1818) based on the forerunner statue by Pietro Tacca (1618) after this work commissioned by the widow was destroyed in the French Revolution .
various
- The bridge was the central setting of the film The Lovers of Pont-Neuf (1991) by Leos Carax .
- In the US film The Bourne Identity (2002), the main character Jason Bourne tries to meet his former employer at the Pont Neuf .
- On the right bank of the Seine at the end of the bridge is the former La Samaritaine department store named after the former pump tower .
See also
Web links
- Pont Neuf on structurae.de
- Pont Neuf - Current and historical photos
- Pont Neuf on insecula.com
- Bridge covering 1985 by Christo and Jeanne-Claude (French)
Individual evidence
- ^ Pont Neuf on structurae.de
- ↑ a b Judith Dupré: Bridges . Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-8290-0409-5 , p. 31 .
Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 27 ″ N , 2 ° 20 ′ 29 ″ E