Description of the attraction
Despite its name, the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest bridge across the Seine in Paris. It connects the Louvre embankment with the Conti embankment, and in the middle crosses the Ile de la Cité.
In the 16th century, there were only four bridges in Paris, they were not enough, and the idea of building a new crossing was discussed even under Henry II. They began to build under Henry III, and opened the Pont-Neuf by Henry IV in 1607.
Like most bridges of the time, the Pont Neuf was built in the Romanesque style and is a series of short arched spans. It was the first stone bridge in Paris with amazing innovations: sidewalks for pedestrians were arranged on it, but no houses and shops were erected - Henry IV took special care that nothing would block the view of the Louvre.
In 1614, by order of Marie de Medici, in the middle of the bridge, where it crosses the Cité, an equestrian statue of King Henry IV, then already killed, was erected. During the French Revolution, the monument was broken and thrown into the Seine, but later Louis XVIII ordered to cast and erect a new statue, a copy of the previous one. She still stands there.
Of course, the merchants were very unhappy that the shops had not been built and so much space was wasted. However, life on the bridge was still in full swing. Musicians played, acrobats jumped, fire-eaters surprised the people, wandering doctors removed teeth and sold all sorts of drugs, royal recruiters of soldiers gave young men a drink, pickpockets snooped in the crowd and prostitutes strolled. The Parisian police said that if a person did not cross the Pont-Neuf for three days, then he was not in the city.
In the 50s of the 18th century, the newly appeared Grand Boulevards came into vogue, and Pont-Neuf gradually fell out of fashion. In the middle of the 19th century, people already said that Pont-Neuf ceased to be an eternal fair, it is now just a bridge that you cross without stopping. Well, on the other hand, he became safe, and he was always beautiful.
The Parisians' love for the bridge did not pass. Pont-Neuf was written by the Impressionists, he was sung in poetry and songs, films were made about him, he is not just a bridge for a long time, he is one of the symbols of Paris.
