France - Pont Neuf 新橋

 

Stamp Issue : 1947-05-07  







 

Stamp Issue : 1978-05-27 

New Bridge (Pont Neuf) is the oldest standing bridge spanning the river Seine in Paris, France. Its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained.
Standing by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was the heart of medieval Paris, it connects the Rive Gauche of Paris (South of Paris) with the Rive Droite. It was the first stone bridge in Paris, has 278 meters in long and 28 meters in wide. The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank.
The bridge had heavy traffic from the beginning; it was for a long time the widest bridge in Paris. The bridge has undergone much repair and renovation work, including rebuilding the bridge spans and changing the arches from an almost semi-circular to elliptical form (1848–1855), In 1885, one of the piers of the short arm was undermined, removing the two adjacent arches.
A major restoration of the Pont Neuf was begun in 1994 and was completed in 2007, the year of its 400th anniversary.

新橋是法國巴黎塞納河上最古老的橋，「新橋」這個名稱是為了從許多連結兩岸的橋梁中區別出來而取的。
新橋位於西堤島（位於塞納河的中心，也是巴黎歷史的核心）的西邊，連結巴黎的左岸（巴黎的南部）與右岸。新橋是巴黎第一座石拱橋，長278公尺，寬28公尺，可以分成兩個部分，西堤島與左岸之間的部分有5個拱，與右岸連接的部分則有7個拱。
在新橋剛建造完成時，通過它的交通狀況相當繁忙。在一段長的時期中，新橋是巴黎最寬的橋樑。新橋多次歷經修復及更新，包括重建橋拱，讓橋拱從半圓形變成橢圓形（1848年至1855年之間）。1885年時，一支橋墩塌陷，並使得鄰近的兩個拱位置偏移。
從1994年新橋開始進行一次大規模修復，並於2007年完成，以慶祝它的400週年。