May 31, 1578: Paris begins a new bridge

On this day in 1578, King Henri III of France laid the first stone of the Pont Neuf, now the oldest bridge in Paris.

Pont Neuf means “new bridge,” and it did herald a new idea: a bridge without houses lining the sides. These structures burned easily, and such conflagrations often inflicted serious damage on the bridge.

Le Pont Neuf connected the Left Bank with the Right Bank via Île de la Cité, which served as the city center in medieval times and is still home to the famous cathedral Notre Dame de Paris.

After a break for the Wars of Religion starting in 1588 – fought over who would claim the throne after the death of the heirless Henri III – construction resumed in 1599 and was completed in 1607, under the reign of the victor, his distant cousin, Henri IV of Navarre.

For more on the Pont Neuf, visit Structurae.

Image: Giuseppe Canella (1788-1847), Paris – Pont-Neuf, île de la Cité, la Monnaie et le quai de Conti (1832). Carnavalet Museum via Wikimedia Commons.