Here is a bridge under which, according to guides on river boats, lovers have to kiss. It is the oldest bridge of the 4th arrondissement.
Indeed, the oldest bridge of Paris, "Pont Neuf" is not in the 4th arrondissement (It links ther 1st and the 6th arrondissements). Certain bridges of the 4th arrondissement are built on the location of much older bridges such as Petit Pont and Pont au Change. But, by its building date and its features, Pont Marie is the oldest. That's why it is particularily charming.
It was designed by the architect Christophe Marie. Its building began in 1614 to link the right bank with the Saint-Louis island, when the island was being developped. Christophe Marie took in charge a part of the expenses to build the bridge. In exchange for which, he received some land to be built up on the island. The bridge was finished in 1635. In 1658, at the end of winter melt, two of the arches with twenty two houses on them were carried away by the rising flood. By order of Colbert (One of Louis XIV's most important ministres) the bridge was rebuilt starting in 1679 but without the houses that had collapsed. The remaining houses were not destroyed before 1788 when king Louis XVI decided, because he wanted a more open city, to have them removed.
This bridge is 92m long. It comprises 5 arches of different sizes, the central one being slightly raised. It is a stone bridge but the the pillars' framework, still the original, is wooden. So, except a slight modification in 1850, it is the only bridge of the 4th arrondissement which looks as it did under the Ancien Regime.
This post was published in French on May 7th, 2008.
I have interesting memories about Pont Marie. It was in the early sixties. I was a student in Paris and used to drive a 2CV Citroên. I was running my car quai des Célestins, fast enough I guess, and came at the level of Pont Marie, where another car (a huge Mecedes) coming from Hôtel de Ville, decided to turn left into rue des Nonnains d'Hyères. The traffic light was green for me. I saw the bulky car in the scope of my wind-screen and I suddenly realized that I had too much momentum to avoid a terrible encounter. This is exactly what happened. The Mercedes resisted the shock but my little 2CV was nearly destroyed. By chance, I was safe and being on the right side of the street while the Mecedes was engaged on its left, the experts of the insurrance companies agreed that I should be 100% compensated for the dammage. Thanks God ! But I was not compensated for the emotion that overwhelmed me during the few fractions of a second when I strived like mad on the brakes to prevent my car from striking the one in front of me. This vision haunted my nignts for months.
Rédigé par : Gérard Simonet | dimanche 24 janvier 2010 à 14h42