In 1632 the first
wooden bridge was constructed so as to replace a ferry that was used since 1550. It
carried different names; Barbier, Pont Rouge, Pont de Tuileries or Pont St Anne (in
reference to Anne of Austria). Forbidden to carriages it cost double to foot
passengers, horse riders and animals as on the bridge au Double.
In 1656 numerous floods and fires cut off this
bridge of 15 arches. Madame de Sevigne reported the flood of 1684 and of the 28th
and 29th of February: The bridge lost eight of its arches. Louis XIV then
ordered the construction at his cost, of a bridge made of stone that had been suggested
since 1632.
Louvois Superintendent of the Buildings of the
King, gave J. Hardouin Mansart the responsibility for the planning, and gave Jaques
Gabriel and the Dominican brother Francois Romain the responsibility of construction.