Tourist attractions in Paris : Pont Neuf
The Pont-Neuf (New Bridge) is in many respects the first of the modern bridges and the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris. With its superb design and decoration, it was the central feature of the grandiose royal architecture to be found along the Seine. It stands 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.
Although planned during the reign of Henri II, the first stone was laid by his son, Henri III, in 1578, in the presence of the Queen Mother, Catherine de Médicis.
After a long delay beginning in 1588, due in part to the Wars of Religion, construction was resumed in 1599.The bridge was completed under the reign of Henry IV in 1603 , and inaugurated four years later with the name it bears today.
Like most bridges of its time, The Pont Neuf is constructed as a series of many short arch bridges, following Roman precedents. 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.
The bridge had heavy traffic from the beginning and was for a long time the widest bridge in Paris. It has undergone much repair and renovation work, including rebuilding of seven spans in the long arm and lowering of the roadway by changing the arches from an almost semi-circular to elliptical form (1848–1855). A major restoration of the Pont Neuf was begun in 1994 and was completed in 2007, the year of its 400th anniversary.
At the point where the bridge crosses the Île de la Cité, there stands a bronze equestrian statue of King Henry IV of France, 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. It was destroyed in 1792 during the French Revolution but rebuilt in 1818. Inside the statue, the new sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot put four boxes, containing a history of the life of Henry 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.
Text Source: wikipedia.org
