Pont Notre-Dame
Pont Notre-Dame | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 48°51′21.77″N 02°20′54.81″E / 48.8560472°N 2.3485583°E |
Carries | Motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles |
Crosses | The Seine River |
Locale | Paris, France |
Next upstream | Pont d'Arcole |
Next downstream | Pont au Change |
Characteristics | |
Design | Arch Bridge |
Total length | 105 metres (344 ft) |
Width | 20 metres (66 ft) |
Clearance below | ? |
History | |
Construction start | 1910 |
Construction end | 1914 |
Statistics | |
Toll | Free both ways |
Location | |
The Pont Notre-Dame is a bridge that crosses the
History
It was on this spot that the first bridge of Paris, called the Grand-Pont, crossed the Seine from antiquity.
Stone foundations were laid for a new bridge that same year, while a ferry filled the transportation void.
In 1853, a new stone structure was completed atop the existing stone foundation, although this reincarnation was only composed of five arches. The new bridge was subsequently the cause of not fewer than thirty-five water traffic accidents between 1891 and 1910 and was given the unofficial name the pont du Diable (Devil's Bridge). Thus, in order to facilitate the passage of boats and the flow of the Seine, a decision was made to rebuild the bridge, this time in metal. The new work was directed by
Inscription
Beneath one of the arches, there is a
, which depicted an idyllic land. The inscription reads:Jucundus geminum posuit tibi, Sequana, pontem:
Hunc tu jure potes dicere pontificem—Sannazaro[14]
This quote translates as "Joconde (Giacondo) put up this twin bridge here for you,
Art
- Each of the bridge's arches carries a head of Dionysus carved in stone. Additionally, its piles are decorated on each side with a ram's head.[9] In the niches along the arches there are statues of Saint Louis, Henri IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV.[1]
- In 1756, during the bridge's commercial peak, Pont-au-Change), which shows the buildings built atop the bridge.
- In 1856, colour-blind artist Charles Meryon etched "L'Arche du pont Notre-Dame" (The arch of Pont Notre-Dame).
Access
Located near the Pont Marie .
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The Pont Notre-Dame is centrally located in Paris' 4th arrondissement, connecting the Île de la Cité, one of the two natural islands on the Seine within the city limits, to the Rive Droite (French: Right Bank).[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i A. and W. Galignani (1825). The History of Paris from the Earliest Period to the Present Day. Galignani. pp. 139–149.
- ^ a b c d e "Pont Notre-Dame - Mairie de Paris" (in French). Archived from the original on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
- ^ Egbert, Victoria. On the Bridges of Medieval Paris, Princeton University Press, 1974
- ^ Boyer, Marjorie Nice. Bridges of Medieval France.
- ^ Burge, James. Heloise and Abelard: A New Biography, Harper, 2003
- ^ Burge, James. Heloise and Abelard: A New Biography
- ^ Egbert, Virginia. On the Bridges of Medieval Paris, Princeton University Press, 1974
- ^ Egbert, Virginia. On the Bridges of Medieval Paris
- ^ a b c d e "Pont Notre-Dame". Insecula.com. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ISBN 90-04-11916-7.
- ^ Guillaume Glorieux, À l'Enseigne de Gersaint: Edme-François Gersaint, marchand d'art sur le Pont Notre-Dame, Paris, 2002, has a considerable section on the bridge and its commercial and cultural milieu.
- ^ ISBN 3-930698-96-X.
- ^ Augustus Pugin (1831). Paris and Its Environs: Displayed in a series of 200 Picturesque Views (in French). Jennings and Chaplin. p. 152.
- ^ Vincenzo Fortunato Marchese (1854). Memorie dei più insigni pittori, scultori e architetti domenicani (in Italian). F. Le Monnier. pp. 132.
sannazaro jucundus geminum.
- ^ "Structurae (fr): Pont Notre-Dame (1914)". Retrieved 2008-01-27.
External links
- (in French) Insecula Database entry for Pont Notre-Dame.