The Pont Saint-Michel is one of 37 bridges across the Seine river. It connects Place Saint-Michel (on the left bank) to Boulevard du Palais on the Île de la Cité, in Paris (France).
It connects 1st, 5th, and 6th arrondissements of Paris.
The other bridge located in its extension towards the north, connecting Boulevard du Palais to Châtelet on the right bank, is the Pont au Change.
It owes its name to the vicinity of the old Saint-Michel-du-Palais chapel which existed in the Royal Palace (at no. 8 of the current Palais de Justice, to the south-east of the Sainte-Chapelle).
This bridge initially built in 1378 was rebuilt several times, most recently in 1857.
The present 62-metre-long bridge dates to 1857, requiring only 7 months for construction, from the date the older bridge was closed to traffic, and was designed on three 17.2m arches by Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie and Paul Vaudrey. It was the site of many of the killings of protesters by the police, in the Paris massacre of 1961, and a commemoration plaque on the bridge was unveiled by the mayor of Paris in 2001.
The entrances to 2 underground stations are located next to the bridge in Place Saint-Michel. Saint-Michel is on line 4 of the Paris Métro, whilst Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame is on line B and line C of the Paris Réseau Express Régional (RER).
Next upstream: Petit-Pont
Next downstream: Pont Neuf
Design: Arch bridge
Total length: 62 metres (203 ft)
Width: 30 metres (98 ft)
Opened 1857
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