A little history of Pont-Marie

Here, on Saint-Louis' island, this is the oldest bridge in Paris! It was mentioned in the 14th century as pont de fust d'emprès Saint-Bernard-aux-Barrés ("wooden bridge"), but it was in the beginning of the 17th century that the current bridge was raised by Christophe Marie.

This one erected it with his own money, on one condition: that the king gave him lands on Saint-Louis' island. You're on!

At that time, we found two small islands covered with orchards: the Our-Lady's island and the Cows' island. A pretty quiet place!

In 1614, Christophe Marie gathered those 2 islands, raised stony quays with houses... and a bridge! Louis XIII and his mother Mary of Medici laid down the first stone in 1614.

Everything ended in 1635. But in the night of March 1th 1658, a river flood destroyed two arches and 22 houses. More than 50 people died.

They immediately rebuilt it... but they needed money for that! So the city put a toll here for pedestrians, for 10 years! Houses were demolished in 1788 and pavements replaced them.