14.11.08

... and even even more Seine bridges

Again, three more bridges today - I will not be able to finish this week, sorry. We can see these three bridges from the Eiffel Tower (see previous posts) and from a satellite.
There were some plans to make a bridge in front of the Invalides (see previous post) already in 1821. It failed technically and there were also protests about the destroyed perspective. Finally a bridge was built there much later, the Pont Alexandre III, but we will revert to this bridge.

At the end, what was to be called the Pont des Invalides was built a bit downstream, ready in 1829. It was not resistant enough and was replaced in 1855. Some decades later it had to be partly rebuilt and reinforced, but it’s basically the same. The bridge has some nice decorations. The sculpture that you can see (bottom left) is called the Maritime Victory (defeats are seldom celebrated). Somehow I believe that with its naked feet it would as well serve as a witness of the water level as the zouave on the Alma bridge (see my recent post).
The next bridge is the one that was finally constructed in front of the Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III on which I already posted. Here are some photos from the previous post completed by the one on the top of this post, taken recently in a much less sunny weather. This metallic bridge was built in 1900, together with a lot of other monumental buildings, including the Grand Palais (see previous post) and the Petit Palais (see previous post), for the 1900 Universal Exhibition. It was a gift by and got named after the second last Russian emperor. It’s certainly one of the most spectacular Seine bridges.

The last bridge for today is the Pont de la Concorde. Constructed during the Revolution, between 1787 and 1791, some of the material was taken from the just demolished Bastille (see previous post). Depending on the political situation, the bridge has changed name back and forth from Pont Louis XVI to Pont de la Révolution. It finally got its present name in 1830. Basically keeping the same architecture it was doubled in width in 1932 and some further slight modifications have been made later. You can here see what it looked like in 1829, equipped with statues that were later taken away – too heavy.

The bridge leads from Place de la Concorde (see previous posts) to the National Assembly (see previous posts).

You can find these photos in full and as a slide show on Ipernity. (I uploaded also to Flickr on my latest posts, but I don't want to make it in double for ever. Some of you expressed a slight preference for Ipernity, so at least for the moment I concentrate on Ipernity only.)

Exceptionally I will post tomorrow, as it's time for the mid-month theme, subways. I wish you anyhow a nice weekend!

24 comments:

Unknown said...

Not only the scenery photos and the location tips are excellent, but also the detail pics are fantastic! I love your collages!

Shammickite said...

Beautiful bridges and beautiful photos, Peter!
I have some pictures of me on Pont Alexandre III, perhaps I should post them one day!
You are so knowledgeable regaqrding Paris, I think you are a walking encyclopedia!
I am still in Florida, sunny/cloudy today.
Tomorrow (Friday) we are going to watch the shuttle launch!

krystyna said...

Yea, you are a walking History Encyclopedia, Peter. And great photographer.
I never visited Paris, but sometimes I feel that I was in Paris. It is because of your beautiful blogsite.

Have a nice time!

krystyna said...

Ipernity is a beautiful slide show!
I could see your beautiful photos with accompaniment of clasic music.
It was wonderful time!

alice said...

Mais ce n'est pas du tout un problème que tu ne termines pas cette série cette semaine, on n'est pas encore lassé, loin de là!
Le pont Alexandre III est très beau et les alentours aussi, on ne s'en lasse pas non plus. Bon week end!

claude said...

A mon avis, le pont Alexandre lll est le plus beaux pont de Paris.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Awesome pictures Peter! You site is unquestionably the best reference guide Paris can get!

Apologies for my long absence!

Cheers

Rakesh

hpy said...

Encore des souvenirs. Quand j'ai quitté les ponts de ton précédent post, c'était pour prendre ceux-ci, et le plus souvent à pied, pour aller travailler. Mais ça s'est arrêté trop vite, avec tous les changements qui sont intervenus, et que tu as connus de ton côté aussi. Je pense qu'on peut dire, au moins dans un ses, que c'était le bon vieux temps, où tout était plus facile. En tout cas, on rigolait plus qu'on ne travaillait... bon, je pousse peut-être le bouchon un peu loin en disant cela, car il nous arrivait aussi de travailler. Un peu!

Alain said...

Moi aussi, j'ai fait le pont.
Très réussie, la lumière de ta première photo.

Cezar and Léia said...

we really like in Alexandre III "Nymphes de la Seine bearing the arms of Paris"! This bridge is such a elegant site of Paris!
Wonderful!Many thanks!Have a nice weekend!

Anonymous said...

That top picture or the first one really reached out to me. I like to frame shots but sometimes forget to do it. This is a nice series of photos, Peter.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Like Abe, the first picture is my favourite by far. It really shows the Seine as a working river, which it is. Well done Peter!

Mona said...

Spectacular is really THE word to describe these beautiful artistic structures. Indeed, France has a rich cultural heritage.

I wonder why they celebrate victories! I personally think that in a war, there is never any victory. Its always all loss, in the final reckoning...

Adam said...

Great photos Peter, and very impressive research. I think the Alexandre III bridge is the nicest, but I can't help thinking of coming revolutions. At that time though, the Russians were obsessed with the French. After the revolution, of course it was the French who became obsessed with the Russians!

Karen said...

Thank you for the views from the Eiffel Tower. I'm planning to go to the top while I'm there but very high open structures are not my favorite places to be. I will try to plan it for a clear day without too much wind. I understand that the structure sways a bit. ohhhhh, but your photos encourage me to overcome any fears.

30 days and counting.

Neva said...

I love your bridge pictures.....what nice shots from the Eiffel Tower.

Marie-Noyale said...

Je decouvre des details que je n'avais jamais vu..
ces colonnes blanches et ventrues du pont AlexandreIII...
je vais faire tres attention la prochaine fois!!

Bergson said...

Mais que de pont aujord'hui
Les tiens sont plus majastueux j'adore les colonnes en or

PeterParis said...

jm:
I'm happy if what I do satisfies you!

shammickite:
Please publish the Alexandre III photo!

krystyna:
Thanks once more for your compliments! For the music, I guess you have to click on one of the buttons?

PeterParis said...

alice:
Merci! Alors, je continue! :-)

claude:
Sans doute un des plus beaux de toute façon! J'ai aussi un grand faible pour Pont Marie, Pont Neuf, Pont de Mirabeau, Pont au Double... :-)

rakesh:
Thanks! But there are so many. I guess you have not checked them all! :-)

PeterParis said...

hpy:
C'est sur que il y avait moins de stress dans le travail à cette "époque"!

alain:
Un long pont! :-)

cezar & léia:
I can see that you know your Paris very well!! :-)

PeterParis said...

abraham:
I'm not (yet) a top photographer, but you are right; I try to frame! :-)
Now, my ambition is often also rather to show what I'm talking about rather than to make the very artisitic photo. :-)

nathalie:
Thanks! Of course the Seine is not the Rhine, but there are not ONLY tourist boats!

mona:
You are of course right aobut the battles won and lost.... but it seems to take time to learn!

PeterParis said...

adam:
The "good" examples vary with time! Where is our good example today?

karen:
It sways a few centimetres under exceptional circumstances, but you will not feel it - don't worry! Do you need someone to hold your hand?

neva:
A fairly clearly sky helps for the Eiffel Tower pictures!

PeterParis said...

marie-noyale:
Si on blogue, on doit faire attention à tout! :-)

bergson:
C'est sur que j'ai un avantage sur toi quand il s'agit de trouver des ponts majestueux, mais on trouve aussi beaucoup de petits ponts avec du charme! :-)