Pont Notre-Dame

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name= Pont Notre-Dame


caption= The Pont Notre-Dame in Paris.
official_name=
also_known_as=
carries= Motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles
crosses= The Seine River
locale= Paris, France
id=
design= Arch Bridge
length= convert|105|m|ft|0
width= convert|20|m|ft|0
below= ?
construction dates= 1910 - 1914
toll= Free both ways
coordinates=coord|48|51|23|N|02|20|56|E

The Pont Notre-Dame is a bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris, France linking the "quai de Gesvres" on the Rive Droite with the "quai de la Corse" on the Île de la Cité. The bridge is notable for being the "most ancient" in Paris. A bridge has existed there in some form since antiquity, although it has been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times; while the oldest intact bridge is the Pont Neuf. Hence, the structure is known for its repeated rebuildings and this is referred to in the Latin inscription placed upon it in honour of its Italian architect, Fra Giovanni Giocondo. The bridge once was lined with structures, including approximately sixty houses. The weight of these buildings caused the Pont Notre-Dame to collapse in the late 15th century.

History

It was on this spot that the first bridge of Paris, called the Grand-Pont, crossed the Seine from antiquity. In 886, during the siege of Paris and the Norman attacks, this structure was destroyed and replaced by a plank bridge, named the Pont des Planches de Milbray (Milbray plank bridge). This bridge was destroyed by the floods of 1406.fr cite web |url=http://www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut?page_id=226 |title=Pont Notre-Dame - Mairie de Paris |accessdate=2008-01-27 |format= |work=] On May 31 1412, Charles VI of France ordered the construction of the first version of the bridge to be named "Notre-Dame". This structure was composed of solid wood and connected the Île de la Cité to the rue Saint-Martin. The bridge took seven years to build and had sixty houses atop it, thirty on each side. The houses were noted by Robert Gauguin as being "remarkable for their height, and the uniformity of construction" and was called the "handsomest in France." King Charles' wooden bridge collapsed on October 25, 1499 near 9 a.m., likely due to structural instabilities caused by the lack of repairs.

Stone foundations were laid for a new bridge that same year, while a ferry filled the transportation void. This time, the bridge was built with stone, as an arch bridge under the direction of Italian architect, scholar and Franciscan Friar, Fra Giovanni Giocondo, who had also overseen the building of the Petit Pont.cite book|author=A. and W. Galignani|year=1825|publisher=Galignani|title=The History of Paris from the Earliest Period to the Present Day|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=j0IDAAAAYAAJ&dq=Jucundus+geminum+posuit+tibi,+Sequana,+pontem|pages=p. 139-149] [cite book|title=The Classical Heritage in France|author=Gerald N. Sandy|isbn=9004119167|publisher=BRILL|year=2002|pages=p. 7|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=os7H19Xx6gQC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=latin+on+%22pont+notre%22+dame+inscription&source=web&ots=-WWFDCk783&sig=DbNffhRPEDjbFuc7FLnKeaMp_oc] The construction was completed in 1507, still overhung with sixty stone and brick buildings, and would become a spot of frequent commerce and trading. The houses upon the bridge were the first to be given numbers. In 1660 the bridge was refurbished to honour the arrival in Paris of the daughter of the king Philip IV of Spain, Maria Theresa of Spain who became queen of France by marrying Louis XIV.cite book |author=Ayers, Andrew |title=The architecture of Paris: an architectural guide |publisher=Edition Axel Menges |location=Stuttgart |year=2004 |pages=p. 394|isbn=3-930698-96-X] [fr cite book|title=Paris and Its Environs: Displayed in a series of 200 Picturesque Views|year=1831|publisher=Jennings and Chaplin|author=Augustus Pugin|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mHoDAAAAYAAJ&dq=pont+notre-dame+construction&lr=|pages=p. 152] Between 1646 and 1788 the houses along the bridge were demolished for sanitary purposes and because of the danger the structures caused to the bridge's stability.

In 1853, a new stone structure was completed atop the existing stone foundation, although this reincarnation was only composed of five arches. The new bridge was subsequently the cause of not less than thirty-five water traffic accidents between 1891 and 1910 and was given the unofficial name the "pont du Diable" (Devil's Bridge). Thus, in order to facilitate the passage of boats and the flow of the Seine, a decision was made to rebuild the bridge, this time in metal. The new work was directed by Jean Résal, who had also worked on the Pont Mirabeau and Pont Alexandre III; it was inaugurated in 1919 by Raymond Poincaré, President of the French Republic. The structure has remained the same since.

Inscription

Beneath one of the arches, there is a distich in Latin from Italian poet Jacopo Sannazaro, best known for his master-work "Arcadia", which depicted an idyllic land. The inscription reads: This quote translates as "Joconde (Giacondo) put up this twin bridge here for you, Sequana; you are able to speak of this priest with authority" or "in this you can swear that he was the bridge-builder", punning on two possible meanings of "pontifex". This refers to the architect, Fra Giovanni Giocondo, and the numerous bridges that had been built earlier upon that spot.

Art

* Each of the bridge's arches carries a head of Dionysus carved in stone. Additionally, its piles are decorated on each side with a ram's head.cite web |url=http://www.insecula.com/salle/MS00793.html |title=Pont Notre-Dame |accessdate=2008-01-27|work=Insecula.com] In the niches along the arches there are statues of Saint Louis, Henri IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV.
* In 1756, during the bridge's commercial peak, Nicolas-Jean-Baptiste Raguenet painted "La joute de mariniers entre le pont Notre-Dame et le Pont-au-Change" (Jousting of the mariners between the Pont Notre-Dame and the Pont-au-Change), which shows the buildings built atop the bridge.
* In 1856, colour-blind artist Charles Meryon painted "L'Arche du pont Notre-Dame" (The arch of Pont Notre-Dame).

Access

The Pont Notre-Dame is centrally located in Paris' IVth arrondissement, connecting the Île de la Cité, one of the two natural islands on the Seine within the city limits, to the Rive Droite ( _fr. Right Bank).cite web |url=http://fr.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000857 |title=Structurae (fr): Pont Notre-Dame (1914) |accessdate=2008-01-27 ]

External links

* [http://www.insecula.com/salle/MS00793.html Insecula] Database entry for Pont Notre-Dame.

References