Mysteries and Legends of Old Paris

For more than two thousand years, Paris has kept the secrets and secrets of history. Houses, streets, squares are shrouded in an invisible haze, woven of legends and stories, partly true, partly grown like stalactites on scraps of truth. True or not, they are part of Parisian charm, its soul. Once, while walking around Paris, you met a strange building or managed to see a memorable picture through the ajar door of the front entrance of an old house. What is it? I'll try to lift the veil of Parisian secrets. The oldest quarters of Paris tell your story.

The New Bridge

The New Bridge is the oldest bridge in Paris that has survived since the Middle Ages. The construction of the bridge was begun to establish the then ruling Valois dynasty, the design of the bridge was designed by the architects Pierre de Ile and Baptiste Androuie du Cerso.

On May 31, 1578, the first stone was laid by King Henry III. Parisians noticed that the monarch was in mourning. He was dressed all in black and his eyes were red with tears. He recently lost his three favourites - Livaro, Kelus and Magiron - who died in a duel. As a result of this event, the residents of Paris decided that it was more correct to call this bridge “Bridge of Tears”. The construction of the bridge was completed during the reign of Henry IV, and in 1607 the inauguration took place. The bridge was not built up with buildings (which was new at the time), but it was paved, very quickly the bridge was filled with various jugglers, peddlers, traders - barking, and it turned into one of the favorite places for walks of Parisians. Shopkeepers placed their shops on the bridge with a crescent.

Among the enterprising Parisians was especially famous the first Parisian puppeteer named Briochet. He had a monkey named Fagotan dressed in a hat and a toad collar. The monkey held a blunt sword and pretended to fight with passers-by for the amusement of walkers. Once Fagotan raised a sword right in front of the nose of a brooding passerby, who was none other than Cyrano de Bergerac, he did not even have time to look at his opponent. Thinking that he was being attacked, he sharply drew his sword and pierced a monkey with it! Brioche was furious. Within a few seconds, he lost his source of income. He sued the poet and he was forced to pay for the loss with interest. Cyrano offered to pay in verse, and poor old Brioche was forced to accept such a strange method of reparation.

In 1614, Queen Maria Medci installed an equestrian bronze statue of her late husband Henry IV in the center of the bridge. The bronze statue stood here until the French Revolution. In 1792 it was demolished and thrown into the Seine. Several fragments of the statue were found (one leg of a horse and one boot of a rider) and now they are in the Paris Museum - Carnival. In 1814, by order of King Louis XVIII, a new equestrian statue was cast and erected on the bridge, and we can still see it today. It is said that the foundryman was a passionate admirer of Bonaparte and hid on one leg of the horse revolutionary pamphlets and a small bust of Napoleon. If the story is true, they should be there now.

Author: Elena guide in Paris