Pont Louis Philippe bridge in Paris
The Pont Louis Philippe is named after the king who was reigning at the time, and although the bridge over the River Seine that you can see today is not the original one, it still dates back to 1860 and links the Ile Saint Louis over the main branch of the river that travels around the Island.
A bit of history
It was back in 1833 that the decision was made to construct a bridge over the River Seine from the Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe over to the tip of the Ile Saint Louis by the Quai aux Fleurs, and the very first stone was laid by King Louis Philippe in the July of 1833.
This suspension bridge was name after the king himself to celebrate his accession to the throne, which was constructed by the architect Marc Seguin, and incredibily it was opened only one year after the first stone was laid with toll houses and a support tower in the form of a triumphal arch.
However, during the French Revolution in 1848, the Pont Louis Philippe was damaged by fire and the toll houses were burnt down, but the bridge did get repaired and it was renamed the Pont de la Reforme. That is, up until 1852, and then this bridge in Paris reverted back to its original name.
But with the growing traffic the bridge was deemed inadequate for the daily needs of the Parisians, and in a formal decree in the August of 1860, it was decided that the Pont Louis Philippe would be demolished.
About Pont Louis Philippe
Work started on the new bridge over the River Seine in the same month that the original was demolished, however, it is located in a different position to the first, as the original one went diagonally, whereas the Pont Louis Philippe you can discover today goes perpendicular.
And this new bridge was designed by the engineer Edmond-Jules Feline-Romany, and even though the Pont Louis Philippe bridge was completed in one year, the approach roads took longer to complete, which meant that this new bridge in Paris was not opened until April 1862.
Not much has actually changed since the Pont Louis Philippe was constructed, bar the fact that the stone parapet had to be replaced in the mid 1990s, and you will see that there are three elliptical arches, and just above the four metre wide piers on the tympana there are bullseye styled windows that were designed to illuminate the interior of the support columns, which are decorated with laurel wreaths, that surround the rosette windows.
Visiting the Pont Louis Philippe
You will find the Pont Louis Philippe bridge going from Quai de Bourbon on the Ile Saint Louis island over to the right bank of the River Seine and the Quai de l’Hotel de Ville, and if you look upstream of the river, the next bridge is the Pont Marie.
When it comes to public transport in Paris, the nearest Metro station to the Pont Louis Philippe bridge is called the Pont Marie stop via line 7, however, the Batobus water bus also stops reasonably close by as well.
