Vieux pont de Limay, Medieval bridge in Limay, France
The Vieux pont de Limay is a stone bridge spanning the Seine River and connecting Limay to the Île aux Dames island. It features eleven arches built in different styles across its length, reflecting changes made over the centuries.
This bridge was first built in the mid-1100s but suffered major damage that led to reconstruction in 1172. The Gothic arches visible today come from that rebuilding period and show how construction methods had advanced.
Jean-Baptiste Corot painted this bridge multiple times in the 1800s, creating works that captured its form and the surrounding riverside light. His canvases helped establish the site as a subject worth studying and remembering.
Access to the bridge is easy via walking paths along both banks of the Seine, where informational signs explain what you see. The riverside promenades make it simple to approach and explore the structure from different viewpoints.
The bridge once supported mills built directly on top of it while also serving as a crossing point. This combined use of the structure for both production and transport was common in medieval times and reveals how closely communities tied commerce to their main routes.
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