Street Shop Quai Saint Michel- Paris
Street Shop - Paris
Water Reflections at The « Pont au Change » – Paris
Water Reflections at The Pont au Change - Paris
Sunset on Alexander 3rd’s Bridge – Paris
Sunset on Alexander 3rd's Bridge - Paris
Alexander 3rd Bridge’s Lizard
Alexander 3rd Bridge's Lizard
Vintage Shot of the Eiffel Tower, Paris
Vintage Shot of the Eiffel Tower, Paris
Pont Neuf – Paris
Pont Neuf - Paris
The Pont Neuf (French for « New Bridge » is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. Its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained.
Standing 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, it connects the Rive Gauche of Paris with the Rive Droite.
The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old engraved maps of Paris show how, when the bridge was built, it just grazed the downstream tip of the Île de la Cité; since then, the natural sandbar building of a mid-river island, aided by stone-faced embankments called quais, has extended the island. Today the island is the Square du Vert-Galant, a park named in honour of Henry IV, nicknamed the « Green Gallant. »
As early as 1550, Henry II was asked to build a bridge here because the existing Pont Notre-Dame was overloaded, but the expense was too much at the time.
Painting of the Pont Neuf project as approved by King Henry III in 1577. The bridge was ultimately completed in 1606 with a less ornate design.
In 1577, the decision to build the bridge was made by King Henry III who laid its first stone in 1578, during which year the foundations of four piers and one abutment were completed.A major design change was made in 1579 requiring the widening of the bridge to allow houses to be built (though they never were) made the piers on the long arm longer. These piers were built over the next nine years. 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, who inaugurated it in 1607.
The Île de la Cité looking upstream from the West, with the Pont Neuf spanning the Seine.
The bastions give the Pont Neuf its fortified air.
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; pedestrians could also step aside into its bastions to let a bulky carriage pass. The decision not to include houses on the bridge can be traced back directly to Henry IV, who decided against their inclusion on the grounds that houses would impede a clear view of the Louvre, which he extended substantially during his reign.
The bridge had heavy traffic from the beginning; it was for a long time the widest bridge in Paris. The bridge 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), lowering of sidewalks and faces of the piers, spandrels, cornices and replacing crumbled corbels as closely to the originals as possible. In 1885, one of the piers of the short arm was undermined, removing the two adjacent arches, requiring them to be rebuilt and all the foundations strengthened.
A major restoration of the Pont Neuf was begun in 1994 and was completed in 2007, the year of its 400th anniversary.
Under the wide arches, on the paved quais, the destitute of Paris called clochards have always huddled.
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, which was erected on its pedestal by Pietro Francavilla, in 1618. It was destroyed in 1792 during the French Revolution, but was rebuilt in 1818, following the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Bronze for the new statue was obtained with the bronze from a statue of Louis Charles Antoine Desaix and cast from a mold made using a surviving cast of the original. 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.
Source : Wikipedia.org
Le Pont des Arts – Paris
Le Pont des Arts
The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the Seine River. It links the Institut de France and the central square (cour carrée) of the palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the « Palais des Arts » under the First Empire).
Between 1802 and 1804, a nine-arch metallic bridge for pedestrians was constructed at the location of the present day Pont des Arts: this was the first metal bridge in Paris. This innovation was due to Napoléon I, following a design of English manufacture. The engineers Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon initially conceived of a bridge which would resemble a suspended garden, with trees, banks of flowers, and benches.
In 1976, the Inspector of Bridges and Causeways (Ponts et Chaussées) reported several deficiencies on the bridge. More specifically, he noted the damage that had been caused by two aerial bombardments sustained during World War I and World War II and the harm done from the multiple collisions caused by boats. The bridge would be closed to circulation in 1977 and, in 1979, suffered a 60 meter collapse after a barge rammed into it.
The present bridge was built between 1981 and 1984 « identically » according to the plans of Louis Arretche, who had decided to reduce the number of arches from nine to seven, allowing the look of the old bridge to be preserved while realigning the new structure with the Pont Neuf. On 27 June 1984, the newly reconstructed bridge was inaugurated by Jacques Chirac – then the mayor of Paris.
The bridge has sometimes served as a place for art exhibitions, and is today a studio en plein air for painters, artists and photographers who are drawn to its unique point of view. The Pont des Arts is also frequently a spot for picnics during the summer.
The argentinian writer, Julio Cortázar, talk about this bridge in his book « Rayuela ». When Horacio Oliveira goes with the pythia and this tells him that the bridge for La Maga is the « Ponts des Arts ». This is a great allusion of Cortázar for one of his greatest novels, even one of the best novels ever written.
Source : Wikipedia.org
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
Sunday Walk – Isle of the Swans – Paris
Sunday Walk - Isle of the Swans - Paris
Île des Cygnes (English: Isle of the Swans) is a small island in the Seine in Paris, France, located in the 15th and 16th arrondissement. It is an artificially-created island, formed in 1827 to protect the port of Grenelle. It derives its name from an earlier Île des Cygnes which was attached to the Champ de Mars in the late 18th century.
The narrow island is 850 meters (2,789 ft) long and 11 meters (36 ft) at its widest point. A tree-lined walkway, named « l’Allée des Cygnes », runs the length of the island.
The island is served by the Passy and Bir-Hakeim Métro stations. It is crossed by three bridges: the Pont de Grenelle, the Pont Rouelle and the Pont de Bir-Hakeim.
A notable feature is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty, 22 meters high and facing west in the direction of its larger sibling in New York City. This statue, which was inaugurated at its site on 15 November 1889 (three years after its counterpart), was given by the French community living in the United States to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. It initially faced east, toward the Eiffel Tower, but it was turned west in 1937, for the exposition universelle hosted by Paris that year. Its base carries a commemorative plate, and the booklet it holds in its left hand carries the inscription IV Juillet 1776 = XIV Juillet 1789, recognizing the American Independence Day and Bastille Day, respectively. Another statue is sited in Jardin du Luxembourg.
Shade of Lights on La Seine – Paris
Shade of Lights on La Seine - Paris
Crowded Sunday on L’ile Saint Louis – Paris
Crowded Sunday on l'Ile Saint Louis - Paris
The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is Île de la Cité, the Île des Cygnes is artificial). The island is named after King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis).
The island is connected to the rest of Paris by bridges to both banks of the river and by the Pont Saint Louis to the Île de la Cité. This island was formerly used for the grazing of market cattle and stocking wood. One of France’s first examples of urban planning, it was mapped and built from end to end during the 17th-century reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII. A peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris centre, this island has but narrow one-way streets, no métro stations and two bus stops. Most of the island is residential, but there are several restaurants, shops, cafés and ice cream parlours at street level, as well as one large church, Saint-Louis-en-l’Île Church.
Passy’s Bridge – Viaduc de Passy
Passy's Bridge
The pont de Bir-Hakeim, formerly the pont de Passy, is a bridge that crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It connects the city’s 15th and 16th arrondissements, and passes through the île des Cygnes.
The bridge, made of steel, is the second to have stood at the site. It was constructed between 1903 and 1905, replacing an earlier bridge that had been erected in 1878. Anarch bridge, it is 237 meters (777 ft) long and 24.7 meters (81 ft) wide.
The bridge has two levels: one for motor vehicles and pedestrians, and a viaduct above, through which passes Line 6 of the Paris Métro. The railway viaduct is supported by metal colonnades, except where it passes over the île des Cygnes, where it rests on a masonry arch. Many commemorative plates decorate the viaduct bridge, including several dedicated to soldiers fallen in Belgium during theSecond World War.
In addition, the central arch of the viaduct, at the level of the island, is decorated with four monumental stone statues in high-relief: figures of Science and Labor by Jules-Felix Coutan, and Electricity and Commerce by Jean Antoine Injalbert.
Originally named the pont de Passy (after the former commune of Passy, which it reaches), it was renamed in 1948 to commemorate the Battle of Bir Hakeim, fought by Free French forces against the Nazi Afrika Korps in 1942[1].
Black and White Sunday on Alexander III’s Bridge in Paris
Black and White Sunday on Alexander III's Bridge in Paris
Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris[1] [2].
The bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. His son Nicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank.
The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a six-metre high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides.
Pont Alexandre III; the Grand Palais can be seen in the background.
The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d’Alby and inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition (as were the nearby Grand Palais and Petit Palais). The Pont Alexandre III is classified as a historical monument.
Numerous sculptors provided the sculpture that features prominently in the bridge. Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17-meter socles, that provide stabilizing counterweight for the arch, without interfering with monumental views. The socles are crowned by Fames restraining Pegasus : on the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences (« Fame of the Sciences ») and the Renommée des Arts (« Fame of the Arts ») both by Emmanuel Frémiet; at their bases, La France Contemporaine (« Contemporary France ») by Gustave Michel and France de Charlemagne (« France of Charlemagne ») by Alfred Lenoir. The lions groups are by Georges Gardet.
Detail of gilded sculpture and one of the masonry counterweights
On the Left Bank, the Renommée du Commerce (« Fame of Commerce ») by Pierre Granet and the Renommée de l’Industrie (« Fame of Industry ») by Clément Steiner; at their bases France de la Renaissance (« France of the Renaissance ») by Jules Coutan and La France de Louis XIV (« France of Louis XIV ») by Laurent Honoré Marqueste. The lions groups are by Jules Dalou.
At the centres of the arches, Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of France correspond with Nymphs of the Neva with the arms of Imperial Russia on the other face; both are executed in hammered copper over forms by Georges Récipon.
Ile Saint-Louis in Paris
Ile Saint Louis - Paris
The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is Île de la Cité, the Île des Cygnes is artificial). The island is named after King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis).
The island is connected to the rest of Paris by bridges to both banks of the river and by the Pont Saint Louis to the Île de la Cité. This island was formerly used for the grazing of market cattle and stocking wood. One of France’s first examples of urban planning, it was mapped and built from end to end during the 17th-century reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII. A peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris centre, this island has but narrow one-way streets, no métro stations and two bus stops. Most of the island is residential, but there are several restaurants, shops, cafés and ice cream parlours at street level, as well as one large church, Saint-Louis-en-l’Île Church.
(Source : Wikipedia)
Sunset on « Pont au Change » – Paris
Pont au Change - Paris
The Pont au Change
The Pont au Change is a bridge over the Seine River in Paris, France.
The bridge is located at the border between the first and fourth arrondissements. It connects the Île de la Cité from the Palais de Justice and the Conciergerie, to the Right Bank, at the level of the Théâtre du Châtelet.
Pont au Change in 1577.
Several bridges bearing the name Pont au Change have stood on this site. It owes its name to the goldsmiths and money changers who had installed their shops on an earlier version of the bridge in the 12th century. The current bridge was constructed from 1858 to 1860, during the reign of Napoleon III, and bears his imperial insignia.
The Pont au Change is featured in the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Police Inspector Javert finds himself unable to reconcile his duty to surrender Jean Valjean to the authorities with the fact that Valjean saved his life. He comes to the Pont au Change and throws himself into the Seine.
(Source From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Pont Neuf and « Bateaux Mouches » by Night – Paris
Pont-Neuf and Bateaux Mouches by night - Paris
The Pont Neuf is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris. Its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained.
Standing 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, it connects the Rive Gauche of Paris with the Rive Droite.
The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old engraved maps of Paris show how, when the bridge was built, it just grazed the downstream tip of the Île de la Cité; since then, the natural sandbar building of a mid-river island, aided by stone-faced embankments called quais, has extended the island. Today the island is the Square du Vert-Galant, a park named in honour of Henry IV, nicknamed the « Green Gallant. »
(Source : Wikipédia)
