Paris

Pont Neuf

The Pont-Neuf, the "new bridge", is currently the oldest in Paris inaugurated in 1607 under the reign of Henry IV. An innovation for the time, this will be the first bridge that crosses from side to side l'Ile de la Cité, which was an urban advance for the time. Its name is because it was the first stone bridge that was built in Paris since the previous ones were made of wood. It is also the longest with its 232 meters long.

You have to imagine how life changed in that era. The Pont Neuf is the first to have a sidewalk for pedestrians and "balconies" in the form of semicircles on each of the columns, where merchants and craftsmen used to sell their goods. In addition, it was one of the first bridges to prohibit housing in its limits. The Parisian people enjoyed the unique recreational life that gave the place.

If you look closely, there are 381 masks carved by the French sculptor Pilon on top of the semi-circles of the bridge. These masks represent heads of forest divinities or peasants of ancient mythology, a trait quite used during the Renaissance period.

Since 2014, it has also been used as a bridge of padlocks of love, although the municipality of Paris extracted a large part during the year 2018.