Pont- with-the Arche

Bridge-with-the Arche is a common French, located in the department of the the Eure and the area High-Normandy. An inhabitant of Bridge-in-the Arche is Archépontain.

Geography

Pont- with-the Arche is located on left bank of the the Seine and the the Eure. Indeed, the bridge of the city spans both at the same time River, giving-there picturesque points of view.

The Confluent of the Eure and the the Seine is nearly 10 km downstream, on the level of small the Barrage of Martot.

Pont- with-the Arche is with 20 kilometers in the south of Rouen and with 35 kilometers in the north of Évreux. From a geological point of view more , the borough is located on the edge of a slope which formerly constituted the old bed of the the Seine.

The solid mass of the forest of Edge brings its freshness to the southern districts of the city and offers a splendid space of leisures to the local population and to the tourists.

History

Birth of the city: military reasons.

The city of Bridge-of-L' Arch was born after construction from military fortifications built on the territory from the village from Hasdans (today Damps). A wood bridge was thrown on the the Seine, starting from 862, and was protected by two forts, on both sides of the river. The building site of these defenses, which marked the reign of Charles II, known as Charles the Bald person, was decided and officialized at the time of the plaids of Pîtres. Towards 869, the bridge and the two forts seem to be completed. They served in particular in 885 at the time of a general offensive of the " men of Nord" , having for goal the Seat of Paris. The bridge " of Arche" (i.e. " forteresse") was used to delay the projection of the Normands. Those reflect four months to gain Paris since the mouth of the the Seine. However, the kings of the Francs pained to fully mobilize the troops of their vassal. Thus the fort of Bridge-in-the Arche doubtless missed men of garrison: Guillaume Stone, monk who held the chronicles of the Abbaye of Jumièges recalled, one century and half later with many inaccuracies, which frank reinforcements came in Damps to reinforce the garrison of the bridge of the Arch. In vain, therefore.

The parish of Bridge-in-the Arche appears in a charter of Richard II, duke of Normandy which granted in 1020 many spiritual but especially financial rights (in particular on the river traffic) to the Abbaye of Jumièges.

The city seems to be developed around the bridge, works requiring the Halage boats and making it possible to charge right-of-way.

Development of a fortified town: the stake of the fight enters the kings of England and France.

Pont- with-the Arche appears then much more clearly in the files during the fights between Richard Lion-hearted, duke of Normandy and king of England, and Philippe II, known as Philippe Auguste, king of France. Richard Lion-hearted made renovate the bridge of the city and gave the means necessary to the foundation of the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bonport (with two kilometers downstream from Bridge-in-the Arche) little time before making build the Castle-Strapping man. In the fights between the two monarchs, the castle of the Vaudreuil was shaven what, when the king of France took again possession of Normandy, facilitated the choice of Bridge-in-the Arche as local military place chief. Indeed, Philippe Auguste made of Bridge-of-L' Arch its principal place of residence in Normandy. It made nowadays strengthen the city by still visible stone ramparts of size of Vernon. It made some in the same way for the Fort of Limaie, located on the other side of the bridge, Right Bank, from which it blocked the access, a such Barbacane. This fort was equipped with a tower philipienne which constituted an ideal observatory on river circulation and the towing of the boats. The geographical assets, combined with the military assets, made that the city became the seat of a secondary Bailliage of Rouen. The date of this establishment escapes to us.

Role of Bridge-of-L' Arch in the territorial control and the internal order. Military base had many advantages, as well for the territorial control vis-a-vis the possible invaders as for the internal order with the kingdom. Pont- LED' Arch allowed the control of river circulation and, therefore, the provisioning of Rouen, city which could fall between enemy hands. This is why it was a stake at the time of the combat which opposed the kings of England to the kings of France during the Guerre One hundred Year old. Thus Henri V, king of England, made main of Bridge-to-L' Arch in 1418. The city thus knew an English occupation until in 1449. In 1346, Edouard III could not take Bridge-of-L' Arch and continued its ride towards Mantes. Who more is, the city offered to an ideal base camp for an attack of the capital high Norman:

- within the framework of the fight against the League of the Public property, in 1466 Louis XI establishes a vast camp in the valley located between Bridge-of-L' Arch and Bridge-Saint-Pierre and this after having begun again the fort of Limaie which had fallen between the hands from noble from Louviers, members of a league. This camp would have accommodated an army of almost thirty thousand men in order to taking again Rouen then all the Normandy. It is here that the famous “bands of Picardy were created” which gave rise to the 1st regiment of infantry of line of the French Army, ancestors of the French infantry.

- with 1589, the troops of Henri IV, which besieged Rouen, was supplied since Bridge-of-L' Arch. The Governor of the city, the White of Rollet had, among the first, open the doors of the city to Henri IV, king disputed. This monarch had, in thanks, gratifié the weapons of the city of the three flowers of lily royales.
Bastille offset of Rouen, Bridge-of-L' Arch was a base of fold in the event of revolt of the Norman people . It was a place of safety insofar as there were not enough inhabitants to impel a revolt here exceeding the local police force. Moreover, to control the city was not enough: by storm still had to be taken the fort of Limaie, on the other side of the the Seine. Bridge-of-L' Arch was thus, for reasons of internal order, of control of the territory in the event of war, a strategic place:

- there thus, within the framework of the wars of religion, from the Protestants Rouen be born besieged the city, in 1562, with six pieces of artillery while hoping to make spoils. They were caught some directly with the royal capacity, but in vain because the city had accurately remained Catholique.

- in 1650, the Fronde reversed the utility of the fortifications of the city: The Duc of Longueville used the garrison and the castle against the royal capacity. The count of Harcourt, which protected the voyage from the monarch in Normandy, accepted the order to invest the place. He camped near his walls with the assistance of the inhabitants who had pointed three guns against the castle, on the other side of the the Seine. The Duc of Longueville made use of this fortified town like an additional argument to negotiate peace with the king. The ramparts of Bridge-of-L' Arch, still visible nowadays, had become a weapon for the possible insurgent ones. The Parliament of Normandy and populates it Rouen asked for the dismantling of those on several occasions. However, the noble ones which perceived rights on the city negotiated the maintenance of the fortifications. They fell in disuse only at the end of the 18th century.

Bridge-with-L' Arch and the covetousness of the royal privileges under the Old Mode.

The ambitions were not rare which looked Bridge-of-L' Arch with interest. The city counted many loads which attracted covetousnesses:

- The load of Governor of the city (local military police force): the greatest noble which obtained from the king rights of governor of the city were Concini, combined Marie de Médicis, Albert Duc of Luynes, Jean-Baptiste d' Ornano, Richelieu.

- 4 Courts: the county court (the Bailliage), the perception of the size (the Tabellionnage), the Attic with salt (its sale was a state monopoly) and administration of National Forestry Commission. These courts attracted many royal officers in the city;

- Minor rights (right-of-way on the bridge, right of market, town due…). It resulted from these loads an imbalance: in addition to a cloth factory which lasted only a time, the city of Bridge-of-L' Arch did not know any industry which nourished the 1700 inhabitants that the city the day before the French revolution counted. It was not less the chief town of the local government.

the French revolution and the Empire or end of the privileges. The French revolution gave the pendulums the hour while making of Louviers the Chef-lieu of the local government: the military role of Bridge-of-L' Arch had for a long time yielded the step to the profits resulting from the manufacturing industry of Louviers, city more populated much. In 1790, Elbeuf was not included/understood in new the department of the the Eure because of the refusal of Louviers to cohabit with its competitor clothier. These two local cities could thus both become chief towns of district. Except a Justice of the Peace and a Municipality, Bridge-of-L' Arch any administrative office lost. During the Revolution, the new archépontaines municipalities knew the same arguments as those which tore the noble ones of before the revolution. Nevertheless, those were public. After 1792, the advanced republicans took the top of the local policy. Alexandre of the Madness was mayor of the city and became owner of old the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bonport. He was deposed following Thermidor 9, dates from the Chute of Robespierre (1795). The main issues which the city during this period knew relate to the disputes between the regiments of the revolutionary army and the inhabitants most attached to the catholic worship. They concern also, and especially, the famine. This one was as atrocious as everywhere else with that close as the inhabitants of the city, since long centuries, helped the boats to cross the bridge which barred the the Seine. They thus drew the corn boats intended for the population from Paris but the empty belly! without same capacity to eat what to remake their forces. Thus they stopped working and that they took corn with which the boats were charged… before the army does not repress them. Napoleon Bonaparte, which passed twice by Bridge-to-L' Arch, included/understood this danger to the internal order and made build a lock, inaugurated in 1813. This one made it possible to exempt local labor while making convey the bread which alleviated the people and thus avoided possible Parisian insurrectionary movements. Let us recall that the people out of weapons had made change the course of the Revolution on several occasions already (the forfeiture of the king, the repression of the Girondins…). The beginning of the 19th century was one period of misery for the city. There are hardly events if it is not the Prussian occupation in 1815, the presence of the Franc-maçonnerie and the creation of the station of Alizay-Bridge-to-L' Arch in 1843.

the industrial revolution: the industry of the slipper and the shoe. The industrial revolution touched the country: the industry of the slipper developed which brought a work very slightly remunerated by the inhabitants of the close area. The slippers, initially produced in the hearths of the workmen, were then manufactured in factories built in the medieval lanes of the city starting from second half of the 19th century. This industry was propagated and, in between two wars, a score of factories existed which employed several thousands of people. The factory of the slipper, then of the shoe after the First World War, brought richness only to its owners, whose beautiful villas are still visible nowadays in the suburbs of the city. The awakening helping, the workmen of the city are reflected in strike in 1900, 1925, 1932, 1936 and 1954 in order to maintain, to even improve their wages.

War and destruction .

The city knew the Prussian occupation in 1870 because of its bridge, which failed to be dynamited. It accommodated a camp of the English army between 1915 and 1920. She knew the engagements between the panzers of Rommel and the French Armies and English in 1940. Its bridges were one of the local main targets of the air raids of the Second world war. However the bombardments did not make disappear the architectural heritage from the city: the Gothic church of the 16th century, houses built according to the technique of wood the Side of the end of the the Middle Ages and the Old Mode, the bailliage of the 18th century mainly, the house of the governor (15th century?), the ramparts (13th century), the manor of Manon…

Personalities.

The last of the bridges of the city was inaugurated in 1955 by Pierre Mendès France which was then president of the the Council of Ministers but also General adviser of the Canton of Bridge-in-the Arche. Pont- LED' Arch also accommodated personalities well-read women: Octave Mirbeau, writer, Jules Massenet, type-setter, Jacques Henri Lartigue, photographer. But the greatest glory of the city east Eustace-Hyacinthe Langlois (1777 - 1837), native, who was archeologist, artist draftsman, short story writer… This man took part in the launching of the study of the Norman medieval inheritance. He was the first instigator of the museum of antiquities of Rouen and was also professor at the school of the fine arts. Many cultural friendships were mobilized to honor its memory and financed a bust (disappeared) and a medallion with Bridge-of-L' Arch. The elected officials of Bridge-of-L' Arch gave its name to the principal place of the city.

Population growth and development of the public services since 1945.

Since the Second world war, the city knows a very great population growth following the many real estate projects which accommodate a population eager to live within a pleasant framework of life. Located between the the Eure, the the Seine and the forest of Edge, the city of Bridge-of-L' Arch is very close to the basins of employment which are Rouen, Valley-with-Reuil and Paris, easily accessible since construction from the 13 in 1967 has. The municipalities, generally located on the left political chessboard, thus since accompanied the development by the public services defined by the State by facing, moreover, with the population growth specific to the city (sporting schools, cribs, infrastructures, roadway system). Bridge-of-L' Arch counts today more than 4200 inhabitants. The city forms part, since 2001, of the Communauté of agglomeration the Seine-Eure, which joins together the municipalities of the areas of Louviers and Valley-with-Reuil.

Heraldic

Blasonnement of the traditional weapons of the city of Bridge-in-the Arche:

“Of mouths, with a bridge of three money arches, driving of a sinople sea, charged with a cross with stem of gold on the medium, and two turns of money covered at the two ends, the chief of azure, charged with three flowers of gold lily. ”
as brought back by Malta-Brown, in illustrated France (1882).

Administration

Demography

Graph of the evolution of the population 1794-1999

In addition, at the time of the Census of 1999, the Total population, including the double accounts, was of 3.534 inhabitants.

Places and monuments

the amateurs of religious heritage will appreciate the church Our-Lady-of-Arts (Saint-Vigor until in 1892), of the 16th century. A splendid canopy presents the practice of the towing of the Bateau X under the Pont - missing - city. Sumptuous carved stalls are next to the high altar. The southern frontage presents, as for it, a very beautiful illustration of the Gothic " flamboyant" , fine stone chisellings. Lastly, the amateur will appreciate the Orgue S of the 17th century.
the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bonport offers a contrast between rooms having preserved the rigor cistercian of the end of the XIIe and 13th centuries and installations, sometimes pointing out the Loire ch4ateau - but small -, of the Ancien Mode. The church, the Cloister, the building of the convers and hotel trade do not exist any more. Paying entry.

As for the civil architecture, it will interest by its trott in sinuous lanes the amateurs of the landscapes of the olden days. Many are the residences of the XVIe, XVIIe and 18th centuries and sometimes with overhangs and corbelling.

the military Architecture is interesting, it also, because it is made up of beautiful vestiges of rampart S, classified with the Historic buildings, whose bases of the turns date from the reign of Philippe Auguste (13th century).

The bailliage of the east city in good state of conservation but is not currently worth visiting. A tourist office is located in the downtown area.

Personalities related to the commune

Pierre Mendès France was appointed district of Louviers (1932 - 1940 and 1946 - 1958) like General adviser of the canton (1937 - 1940 and 1945 - 1958).
Octave Mirbeau lived a hiring located on the common neighbor of the Damps of 1888 to 1892 and it is in the area of Bridge-in-the Arche that it located two of its novels, In the sky and the Newspaper of a chambermaid . It could observe the distress in which the workmen chaussonniers of Bridge-in-the Arche lived. This distress was all the more strong, in these times, that the city was struck during three years by an epidemic of Influenza. The chaussonniers not being able to work, they were reduced to request their bread from the Welfare office of the city. However, as this one missed resources quickly, the mayor made a demand for special aid in prefecture. Octave Mirbeau supported it but in vain. This is why the writer, who furbished his first anarchistic weapons then, wrote the news abandoned the , published in Le Figaro, which is a load against the opportunist republican government of Sadi Carnot. In addition, Octave Mirbeau found with the Damps and with Bridge-in-the Arche what to satisfy its pleasure of strolls in charming natural decorations.
Jules Massenet lived Bridge-in-the Arche.
Jacques Henri Lartigue lived Bridge-in-the Arche.
Eustace-Hyacinthe Langlois

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