Pont Neuf

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For the bridge in Toulouse, see Pont Neuf, Toulouse.

The Île de la Cité looking upstream from the West, with the Pont Neuf spanning the Seine.

The Pont Neuf, French for the "New Bridge," is the oldest^[1] standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris. Its name, which distinguished it from the old bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, simply stuck.

Standing by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was the heart of medieval Paris, it connects the left bank, the Rive Gauche of Paris (on the right in the illustration above) with the Rive Droite, the right bank (on the left in the illustration above).

The total length of the bridge is 278 m (912 feet), its width 28 m (approximately 92 feet). It is actually composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old engraved maps of Paris show how, when the bridge was built, it just grazed the downstream tip of the Île de la Cité; since then, the natural sandbar building of a mid-river island, aided by stone-faced embankments called quais, has extended the island, which is planted as the Parc Vert Gallant, in honour of Henri IV, the "Green Gallant" King.

The bastions give the Pont Neuf its fortified air.

The decision to build the bridge was made by King Henri III, who laid its first stone in 1578. After a long delay, due in part to the Wars of Religion, it was completed under the reign of Henri IV, who inaugurated it in 1607. Pont Neuf is constructed as a series of many short arch bridges, as most bridges of that time were built, following Roman precedents. Unlike the old bridges, it was the first stone bridge in Paris not to support houses in addition to a thoroughfare, and was also fitted with pavements protecting pedestrians from mud and horses; pedestrians could also step aside into its bastions to let a bulky carriage pass. The bridge had heavy traffic from the beginning; it was for a long time the widest bridge in Paris. The structure has never been altered, although the bridge has undergone repair and renovation work. The original wooden pilings supporting the foundations still remain. A major restoration of the Pont Neuf was begun in 1994 and was completed in 2007, the year of its 400th anniversary.

Under the wide arches, on the paved quais, the destitute of Paris called clochards have always huddled^[clarify].

Pont Neuf at Sunset.

1 The equestrian statue of Henri IV
2 Resting place of Jacques de Molay
3 Access
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
7 Location

[edit] The equestrian statue of Henri IV

Statue of Henry IV on the Pont Neuf, by Lemot after Pietro Tacca

At the point where the bridge crosses the Île de la Cité, there stands a bronze equestrian statue of Henri IV, originally commissioned from Giambologna under the orders of Marie de Médicis, Henri’s widow and Regent of France, in 1614. After his death, Giambologna's assistant Pietro Tacca completed the statue, which was erected on its pedestal by Pietro Francavilla, in 1618. It was destroyed in 1792 during the French Revolution, but was rebuilt in 1818, following the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Bronze for the new statue was obtained with the bronze from a statue of Louis Charles Antoine Desaix and cast from a mold made using a surviving cast of the original. Inside the statue, the new sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot put four boxes, containing a history of the life of Henri IV, a 17th-century parchment certifying the original statue, a document describing how the new statue was commissioned, and a list of people who contributed to a public subscription.

[edit] Resting place of Jacques de Molay

Marker from the site of his execution in Paris. (translation: At this location, Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned on March 18, 1314), located by the stairs from the Pont-Neuf bridge, facing the trees at the tip of the island.

The last Grand Master of the Knights Templar Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake on the Île de la Cité near the Pont Neuf, on 18 March 1314. The execution was ordered by Philippe le Bel (Philip the Fair) after Jacques retracted all of his previous confessions, which outraged the French king.