Île Louviers

Around 1370 it was called ‘Île aux Javiaux’ because it was made of sand and silt ("le javeau") carried by the Seine and the Bièvre.

[8] Originally the island was used for pasturage, but in 1549 the city of Paris erected a fort, a bridge and a marina, where a naval battle and the seizure of a fortress were enacted for the entertainment of Henri II and Catherine de Medici.

[2][3] In 1613, under Louis XIII, for the feast of Saint-Louis, a small castle filled with fireworks was erected on the island and set on fire.

Boats laden heading downstream came with the current down the narrow arm of the Seine passing the island to reach the port.

[13] In the seventeenth century the Paris authorities leased the island from the heirs of the sieur d’Antragues so that it could be used as a goods yard.

At the same time a wooden groyne (“estacade”) was built at the head of the channel to keep out floating ice in winter; a narrow entrance in the middle gave access to boats seeking shelter.

The following year more soil was brought onto the island, the boundaries of the lumber yards were restricted and the bridge was widened to make transit easier for pedestrians.

[2] On several occasions plans were conceived to fill in the channel separating the Île Louviers from the north bank, or to link it with neighbouring islands.

It was originally built by the Paris authorities after they leased the island for commercial use, and it was demolished in the 1840s as part of the project to connect the Île Louviers with the mainland.

[2] The northern section of the Passerelle de Damiette was removed as part of the construction work to join the Île Louviers to the mainland.