Brief reminder of Part 1 (without mistake ) :
The Ponts des Arts was built in 1804. The architects ' plan was to design a hanging garden with shrubs, flowers and benches. It was the first bridge in Paris made of cast iron with 9 arches. Until the 20th century, it did not encounter any major incidents despite the fragility caused by the bombings of 1918 and 1944 and the boat collisions in 1970. In 1979, it collapsed over 60 m when a barge hit it.
After the bridge was dismantled in 1980, reconstruction work began a year later. It was the architecte Louis Gérald Arretche who reworked the plans so that the arches of the Pont des Arts were align with those of the Pont Neuf. As with its predecesseur, it took three years to complete the work. Jacques Chirac inaugurated the new bridge - identical to the previous one - on 27 June 1984.
The Passerelle des Arts, reserved for pedestrians, represents the romantic symbol of Paris. It is an exceptional place that atracts painters, draugtsmen and photographers, who enjoy a breathtaking view of the historic centre of Paris. Musicians (accordionist, violinist, and others ) create a musical and festive atmosphere for families and tourists who strol on this wooden footbridge.
If this bridge is known for the most beautiful views of the capital, it is also known throughout the world for the tousands of padlocks, with the initials of the lovers, hanging along the parapet.
Thus, between 2008 and 2014, these padlocks pile up on top of the grilles, whose weight became difficult to beer (500 kg of padlocks per grilled panel ) and the inevitable happened in 2014 with the fall of a grilled section into the Seine. As a result, the City Hall of Paris removed the padlocks and replaced them with laminated glass panels, treated against reflections and graffiti, which ofer perfect transparency.
The padlocks will have another destiny that I invite you to discover in ' The Padlocks of the Pont des Arts ' . |
