12 By the Dozen

Le Pont des Templiers

   The oldest bridge in the Ile de France ( the Paris region) is about fifty minutes walk from where we live. We cross over the bridge, and on the other side of the motorway there is a pleasant walk through the woods along  the banks of the river Yvette, then through a little arboretum, which is at the back of some housing, then along the banks of the Rouillon stream. The Templars' Bridge, the last vestige of the Templar Commandery of Balizy founded in 1288, is located in the hamlet of Balizy in Longjumeau. It is the oldest bridge in the Ile de France region, classified as a historical monument in 1930. The bridge has two parts: a main arch that spans the Rouillon, and two smaller arches. All three are Romanesque. At the downstream end of the bridge inderneath the largest arch is the Jerusalem cross, symbol of the Order of the Temple.

   When I first started thinking about this subject, I was considering doing a sketch map of our walk along with a picture of the bridge itself, but I couldn't get it all to fit together, so eventually decided to just show the bridge. At first I was  going to print the image, but it didn't work, so I drew it, coloured it in with markal paintstiks, then quilted it. The stream that runs beneath the bridge is rather small and sluggish, but in my version it seems to have become a stronger flowing river!