Description of the attraction
The Pont Marie, which connects the Ile Saint-Louis to the right bank of the Seine, is the second oldest bridge in Paris after Pont Neuf. At the same time, Marie is not a woman's name, as one might assume, but the surname of the builder.
When, at the beginning of the 17th century, engineer and entrepreneur Christophe Marie began to urbanize two empty islets near the Ile de la Cité, he naturally needed to connect the new quarter to the city. The first stone of the bridge was laid by Louis XIII in 1614.
The bridge was built for 21 years. After its opening, many proposals were received to build houses on it, as it was then customary. Reasonable Marie was against, however, despite this, a certain carpenter Claude Doublet built about fifty houses on the bridge. The flood on March 1, 1658, swept away twenty of them, killing sixty. The flood also destroyed two arches of the bridge from the side of the island. It is believed that the disagreements between those responsible for the technical condition of the bridge and the owners of the houses are to blame for this - because of them, the structure was simply not repaired. In 1660, the arches were restored, but not the houses, and the partially "bare" bridge began to look strange. In addition, wooden arches were installed, and the passage was made toll - thus, funds were collected for the construction of a stone crossing. For ten years, they managed to collect money and build a stone bridge.
In 1740, the houses still remaining on the Pont Marie were demolished, fearing new disasters, and in 1769 it was decided to demolish all houses on all Parisian bridges (this was completely done by 1788).
For more than three hundred years, Marie has hardly changed. Like most old stone bridges, its "hump" has slightly decreased, but this almost did not affect the appearance. And the view is unusual: all five arches are of different width and height; niches in the supports, where some statues ask for, were always empty.
Guides on excursion boats claim that Marie is the bridge of lovers, that, according to tradition, once under it, you need to kiss the person standing next to it and make a wish. Although there is no historical basis for these claims, such a tradition is indeed gradually being established through the efforts of the guides.
