The new bridge is the oldest bridge and other fun facts about the Pont Neuf

Pont Neuf

Do you speak French? At least enough to count to ten? Then you will know that neuf means nine. But don’t jump to the conclusion that the Pont Neuf was the ninth bridge crossing the Seine river. In fact the Pont Neuf Is the oldest existing bridge of the 36 that cross the Seine within the city limits today. Even back in 1578 when its construction began (after lengthy interruptions, it was finished in 1603), it was not the ninth bridge. Neuf, in fact, also means new, which it obviously was when it was built. But why name this particular bridge the “new bridge”?
The difference between this new bridge and the others was that it was built of stone and without any houses, thus allowing Parisians to look at the river flowing below, which was impossible to do from the other bridges.
It is hard for us to imagine what “normal bridges” meant to Parisians back in those days, for today there are no bridges with houses on them in Paris. However, if you look at other parts of Europe, you can find the occasional stone bridge bearing houses, such as Pulteney Bridge in Bath, UK (18th century), the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy (14th century), or the Pont de Rohan in Landerneau, Brittany (16th century).

Houses on the wooden bridges would have looked somewhat like these.

The New Bridge in Paris was an immediate success because it was both large (no houses) and you could look at the river below (no houses). It became a place for commerce, gathering, celebrating, meeting for all levels of society.
When 12 countries of the European Union first adopted the Euro as their currency on January 1st, 2002, the Pont Neuf with its 12 arches was chosen to symbolize this important passage.

Pont Neuf on January 1, 2002
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1 thought on “The new bridge is the oldest bridge and other fun facts about the Pont Neuf

  1. Thank you for this post! It’s so interesting that bridgers were normally built with houses, but I guess it makes sense because land was scarce inside city walls. 🙂

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