Pont Neuf — Toulouse, France
Posted by: 
prussel
N 43° 35.960 E 001° 26.347
31T E 374017 N 4828556
The Pont Neuf (officially Pont de Pierre) is a 16th-century stone arch-bridge, is the oldest surviving bridge over the Garonne in Toulouse
Waymark Code: WMYKCX
Location: France
Date Posted: 06/25/2018
Views: 4
The Pont Neuf (officially Pont de Pierre) is a 16th-century stone arch-bridge, is the oldest surviving bridge over the Garonne in Toulouse.
Original planning for the bridge started in 1542 by the assembly of a committee of master masons and carpenters. Construction started on the foundations in 1544, the first arch was started in 1614. The bridge was indeed completed in 1632 and opened to traffic, but it was then opened only 27 years on 19th October 1659 by the young Louis XIV. himself.
The approximately 220 m long bridge has seven uneven arches, with the largest arch outside the centre closer to the right bank. The largest of the arches, made of bright lime and red-brown bricks, has a clear width of about 30 m, the smallest of about 18 m.
Between the arches large passages were built in to reduce the water pressure at high tide. Allegedly, these were originally intended to represent lion's mouths, but were designed in a simpler form for reasons of cost. The road surface rises slightly from both sides towards the middle of the largest arch. The road surface rises slightly from both sides towards the middle of the largest arch.
Since 1991, the Pont Neuf is listed as monument historique.
source: wikipedia, Merimee DB
Visit Instructions:[EN] Include at minimum a complete sentence which reflects your experience visiting the site and upload a photo taken by you at the site.
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