Pont de Sully

Pont de Sully

The northern part of the Pont de Sully, from the west
Crosses The Seine River
Locale Paris, France
Next upstream Pont d'Austerlitz
Next downstream Pont de la Tournelle
Pont Marie

The Pont de Sully (or Pont Sully; French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ də syji]) is a bridge across the River Seine in Paris, France.

In reality two separate bridges meeting on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, it links the 4th and 5th arrondissements of the capital along the line of the Boulevard Henri IV, and connects to the eastern end of the Boulevard Saint-Germain. Sully - Morland is the nearest Metro station.

History

The collapse of the bridge, 1872

The two parts of the bridge, known as the Passerelle Damiette[1] (on the right-bank side) and the Passerelle de Constantine on the left-bank side, were authorized by an act of 18 June 1836, in favor of M. de Beaumont, the projector, who would recoup his expenses, valued at 380.000 fr., by collecting tolls.[2] The bridges, opened to traffic January 1838, were a pair of pedestrian suspension bridges, constructed by the engineer Surville.[3] The Passerelle Damiette was destroyed in the 1848 Revolution, while the Passerelle de Constantine, built in 1837,[4][5] collapsed in 1872 owing to corrosion in its cables.

The current bridge was constructed in 1876, as part of Haussmann's renovation of Paris, and opened on 25 August 1877. It is named in honour of Maximilien de Béthune, duke of Sully (1560-1641) and minister to Henry IV. It was designed by the engineers Paul Vaudrey and Gustave Brosselin. They set it at an angle of about 45 degrees to the river banks, which means that it gives a splendid view over the quais of the Île Saint-Louis and Notre Dame. The southern part consists of three cast iron arches, while the northern part, over the narrower arm of the river, consists of a central 42m arch in cast iron and two 15m arches in masonry.

Location on the Seine

See also

Notes

  1. Commemorating the taking of Damietta by Napoleon.
  2. Félix and Louis Lazare, Dictionnaire historique des rues et monuments de Paris, (reprinted, 2003) s.v. "Damiette (Passerelle de)" and "Constantine (Passerelle de)".
  3. Possibly Eugène Surville (1790-1866), ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées, the rebuilder of the canal de l'Ourq and brother-in-law of Balzac.
  4. The Mystery of the Missing Suspension Bridges of Paris, http://parisianfields.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/the-mystery-of-the-missing-suspension-bridges-of-paris/
  5. Constantine Footbridge, http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0032321

Coordinates: 48°51′00″N 2°21′32″E / 48.85000°N 2.35889°E / 48.85000; 2.35889

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