Description of the attraction
The Pont de Chatelet, which connects the Ile de la Cité with the right bank of the Seine near Chatelet, has, like everything else in Paris, a rich history.
At first, there was a wooden ferry in its place, built in the 9th century. It led directly to the royal palace on the island. The bridge, as was usually done in those days, was so densely built up with houses of four or even five floors that it was impossible for passers-by to see even a piece of the Seine. There were 140 houses and 112 shops and workshops! The bridge got its name precisely because of the fact that commodity-money exchange took place on it.
In the XIV century, the royal residence moved to the Louvre, and the road to Holy Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral began to pass through the Chateau Bridge. Therefore, it was decorated with sculptures of French kings. Now these sculptures are in the Louvre.
The bridge burned once and collapsed more than once. This collapse is described in the novel "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind. The bridge also played a role in Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables - it was from here that Inspector Javert rushed into the Seine. The bridge was painted by artists - for example, on the canvas by Robert Hubert "Demolition of houses on the Pont de change" depicts a historic event for Paris. The viewer, as it were, stands with his back to the shore and sees tall white mountains of broken limestone, from which houses were built, walls that have not yet been demolished, workers on dismantling, a horse with a cart waiting for the load. Everything was so - all buildings were demolished in 1786 under Louis XVI. One can imagine how bare the bridge seemed to the townspeople without shops and houses!
The bridge acquired its modern appearance in the 19th century, when the so-called "osmosis" of Paris began. In 1858, during the reign of Napoleon III, the old wooden structures were removed and in two years a double of the Saint-Michel bridge, located opposite, was built. The three-arched stone bridge, 103 meters long, although decorated with imperial symbols, of course, does not look as picturesque as the old one, lined with houses. But it has become modern and safe.
