The Pont de Bir-Hakeim crosses the Seine River, connecting the 15th arrondissement on the Left Bank with the 16th arrondissement on the Right Bank, and passes through the Ile aux Cygnes (Island of Swans.) The steel arch bridge was constructed between 1903 and 1905. It is 777 feet long and 81 feet wide. The bridge has two levels, one for motor vehicles and pedestrians, and a viaduct above, through which passes the Paris Metro. The railway viaduct is supported by metal colonnades, except where it passes over the île aux Cygnes, where it rests on a masonry arch.
Originally named the Viaduc de Passy, it was renamed in 1948 to commemorate the Battle of Bir-Hakeim, fought by Free French forces against the Nazi Afrika Korps in 1942. (Bir-Hakeim is a remote oasis in the Libyan Desert where the French troops resisted Rommel’s Afrika Korps for two weeks, giving time to Montgomery’s troops to gather in El Alamein.) Many movies have featured this bridge including, Last Tango in Paris, and more recently, Inception.
The Pont de Bir-Hakeim
A commemorative plaque in honor of the Free French forces at Bir-Hakeim
A cast iron sculptural group by Gustave Michel, les Nautes (The Boatmen), attach a coat of arms of the city of Paris to the piling.
Les Forgerons-Riveters (The Ironsmith-Riveters) affix an emblem of République française
on the other side of the bridge.
Joan of Arc on the lookout of the Pont de Bir-Hakeim
St. Joan of Arc was a French peasant girl who announced to the French court that she had been sent by Saints Michael, Catherine, and Margaret to lead the French against their English invaders. She led armies into battle and had remarkable success, but was ultimately betrayed to the enemy, who tried her as a witch and burned her at the stake on May 30, 1431.
The bronze statue named "la France renaissante" (France Reborn) is a controversial depiction of Joan of Arc. The sculpture shows her as an equestrian warrior, with sword raised to the sky as if to charge into battle. It was considered inconsistent with historic representations of Joan of Arc as a virginal, saint-like peasant girl. The sculpture is perched atop a lookout that affords a view of the Eiffel Tower on the upstream side of Pont de Bir-Hakeim. The statue, by Danish sculptor Holger Wendekinch, was offered by the Danish colony in 1930. I think that Joan must have been warrior-like as well as charismatic for armies to follow her into battle, so this is probably a more accurate depiction of Joan than most other portrayals of Saint Joan as a sweet young maiden. I also think it is somewhat stylized in comparison to other equestrian statues, which abound in Paris, so it seems much less formal and much more vital and energized than other equestrian statues.
The bronze sculpture of Joan of Arc, La France Renaissante
A gardener working at the base of the sculpture
October is the month when gardens all over Paris are replanted.
The warrior depiction of Joan of Arc on horseback
Joan of Arc at night
Becky at the base of the sculpture
Joan of Arc and the Eiffel Tower
Joan of Arc and the Eiffel Tower at night
Joan of Arc with the Bir-Hakeim Bridge in the background
The Eiffel Tower from the Bir-Hakeim Bridge
The Eiffel Tower at night
The sign pointing the way to the Vel d’Hiv monument
In July of 1942, the Vel d’Hiv, an indoor cycling stadium whose name is short for Velodrome d’Hiver, was used as a temporary collection point for the Jews who had been rounded up prior to being shipped off to the death camps. They were confined to the velodrome, then shipped by railway to Auschwitz. Over 13,000 victims were arrested and held at the velo, including 4,000 children. The roundup was a Nazi-decreed raid enacted entirely by the French national police.
It was only in 1993 that Francois Mitterrand commissioned a monument to be built near the site of the velodrome, which burned down in part and then was demolished in 1959. The monument stands on a curved base, to represent the cycle track, on the edge of the quai de Grenelle. It is the work of the Polish sculptor Walter Spitzer and the architect Mario Azagury. Spitzer's family were survivors of deportation to Auschwitz. The statue represents all deportees but especially those of the Vel' d'Hiv. The sculpture includes children, a pregnant woman and a sick man. The inscription reads: "The French Republic in homage to victims of racist and anti-Semitic persecutions and of crimes against humanity committed under the authority of the so-called 'Government of the State of France” 1040 - 1944 We will never forget.” The monument is located very near the the Bir-Hakeim bridge on the 15th arrondissement side.
The monument is at the far end of the walkway
The monument against a background of high-rises
The monument and inscription
Victims of the roundup
The victims are on a curved base, which represents the cycle track.
The Pont Rouelle
The Pont Rouelle, used only for railway traffic
Boats docked on the Quai de Grenelle, with the Pont Rouelle in the background
The Paris Yacht Marina
The SS France was a French ocean liner which was put into service in February, 1962. At the time of her construction in 1960 she was the longest passenger ship ever built and remained so until the Queen Mary 2 was built in 2004. France was later purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line in 1979, renamed SS Norway and was modified for cruising duties. She was sold to be scrapped in 2006, and scrapping was completed in late 2008. In 2009 the tip of the bow of the France/Norway was returned to the country of her birth as one of the auction pieces removed from the ship before scrapping began. The auction was held on February 8 and 9. It is now on public display at the Paris Yacht Marina, Port de Grenelle, Paris 15e.
Statistics of the SS France in better days
“Le nez du France revient en France” (The nose--the tip of the bow-- of France returns to France.)
The tip of the bow of the ocean liner SS France/Norway exhibited in the port de Grenelle in Paris, after having been sold by auction in February 2009.
Le Nez du France
The sign indicating the Isle of Swans
A tour boat on the Seine
You can see the Isle aux Cygnes to the right of the boat. At first glance, I thought the bank was the far side of the Seine, but it‘s really the man-made island in the middle of the Seine.
Stairway down to the promenade
You can see the Seine on either side of the island.
Walkway of the Swans, but not a swan in sight
The pathway approaching the Pont Rouelle
The Pont Rouelle and train
A view from the walkway past the Pont Rouelle on the way to the Pont de Grenelle
The Pont Rouelle, the railroad bridge, on the other side of the Ile Aux Cygnes
Before reaching the Pont de Grenelle, you can see the ring-shaped “Maison de Radio France,” home to the French National Broadcasting Corporation. Radio France has its headquarters at the Maison de la Radio, a circular building designed by the architect Henri Bernard and inaugurated in December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. This distinctive building is on the Seine in the 16th arrondissement. The building is also home to the Musee de Radio France, a museum of radio and television broadcasting and recording techniques.
Maison de Radio France
At the southwestern end, you finally reach the landmark of the Allée des Cygnes: la Statue de la Liberté. It is a one-fourth scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, 72 feet high and facing west, in the direction of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The American community of Paris offered this smaller statue to Paris in 1889, commemorating the centennial of the French revolution. Its base carries a commemorative plaque, and the tablet in its left hand bears the inscription IV Juillet 1776 = XIV Juillet 1789, recognizing the American Independence Day and Bastille Day, respectively. An even smaller statue is located in the Jardin de Luxembourg, and a third copy can be seen in the Musee des Arts et Metiers.
The Isle aux Cygnes and the Pont Rouelle, the railroad bridge, from the quai
The masonry overpass of the railroad bridge where it goes over the Ile aux Cygnes
The railroad bridge as seen from the Ile aux Cygnes
The end of the promenade and the Pont de Grenelle on the left
The promenade leads up to the bridge, and the Statue of Liberty can be seen on the other side of the bridge.
The bridge is between the walkway and the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue of Liberty on the far side of the Pont de Grenelle
The Statue of Liberty and the Pont de Grenelle from the quai
A closer view of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty and the Radio France building in the background
If you would like to make a sightseeing day of it, start with the Musee du Vin, on the 16th arrondissement side of Bir-Hakeim. The nearest metro station to the museum is Passy. Then cross the bridge, viewing the Joan of Arc sculpture at the half-way point. Access to the Isle of Swans is on the other side of the bridge from the Joan of Arc sculpture. Take the stairs down to the promenade, which ends at the Statue of Liberty just past the Pont de Grenelle. Come back on the Port de Grenelle, right along the Seine, to see “the Nez” at the Paris Yacht Marina. The Vel d’Hiv monument is on the 15th arrondissement side of Bir Hakeim, quite near the end of the bridge, and the Bir-Hakeim metro is just across the street. This is a great excursion to take on a beautiful day. The promenade on the Isle of Swans is a very pleasant walk, and there are a lot of interesting things to see in the neighborhood of these three bridges.
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ReplyDeleteBecky, this is an excellent account of the Pont de Bir-Hakeim and the Allée des Cygnes. I spent a lot of time there as a child (my parents rented an apartment on the rue Nélaton, which I later realised was opposite the site of the Vel d’Hiv.) I was taken for walks with friends as a young child along the Allée des Cygnes, and have wonderful memories of the place - the bridge, the walk, the streets, the statues, the métro. I even enjoyed the odd tunnel of the Pont Rouelle, which pre-RER was virtually abandoned.
ReplyDeleteOn the Joan of Arc statue, it’s odd that it’s pre-war. The battle of Bir-Hakeim was taken to represent “la France renaissante” during the war - a sign that France had fought on against the Nazis (and of course that the true France had nothing to do with the French state’s wartime atrocities and complicity - as you note Mitterand only recognised this on behalf of France in the 1990s with the monument to the grand raffle and the Vel d’Hiver). So the 1930s statue seems apt for a bridge later renamed in a way which also in a different way symbolised ‘la France renaissante’.
Thanks again for the great and super-accurate post.