Petit Pont, Stone bridge in 5th arrondissement, France.
Petit Pont is a single-arch stone bridge spanning 32 meters (105 ft) across the Seine, linking the Left Bank to Île de la Cité. Its compact design accommodates both foot traffic and vehicles, creating a direct crossing between two important sections of Paris.
The original crossing at this location dates back to ancient times and served as one of the earliest ways to traverse the Seine. The present structure was completed in 1853, replacing older multi-arch designs that proved vulnerable to flooding.
The name comes from its crossing of the small arm of the Seine, as opposed to the Grand Pont over the large arm. In the early 13th century a Jewish quarter with schools, a butcher's shop and a synagogue stood near the bridge, and from 1552 apothecaries' shops lined it because of the nearby Hôtel-Dieu. Since 2013 it has also borne the name of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005.
The bridge links rue de la Cité and quai du Marché-Neuf on Île de la Cité with place du Petit-Pont on the Left Bank, between quai de Montebello and quai Saint-Michel. RER line C stops at Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame and metro line 4 at Saint-Michel. The deck is 20 m wide with two side pavements, so crossing on foot is straightforward.
The bridge has been destroyed at least thirteen times since Gallo-Roman times, and at least eleven of those before it was first built in stone. The 1718 fire started when a woman searching the Seine for her drowned child used a lit taper; her boat collided with a hay barge that drifted into the bridge. The present single arch dates from 1853.
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