A Miraculous Machine
Greetings from la Grande Couronne #4
What's that building, and what is it doing there on its tiny island in a bend of the Seine? It looks small. It looks abandoned. Why would somebody build that there? Those questions, and probably several more, flashed through my head when I first saw this building. I like the type. Industrial, historic, abandoned. It ignites imagination. And curiosity.
Plus, I think they're beautiful, photogenic, cool.
Fortunately, there's always a lot you can find out about places like this, these days. Thank you google,
thank you internet,
thank you Wikipedia!
So, the little building is part of [drumrollllllll]: a machine! And what a machine. From where that little building is, water was pumped up to Versailles, 162 meters above the Seine. Not to drink, but to fill the fountains. Even though the machine was excellently engineered, it could not bring up enough water to let all the fountains run "normally". The capacity of the machine was only good for a fourth of that. Which still was more water than used in a nearby town named Paris.
Oh, and yes. This building is located in the town Bougival, runs through the town of Louveciennes but is named after the town between the base and Versailles. It's the Marly Machine or Machine de Marly in French. Apparently, there are other remnants of it to be seen. That's something for another time.
For now: des gros bisous des Yvelines, and greetings from the Grand Couronne.
PS: Can you guess the song reference made above? Follow this link to check if you're right :)
This is the fourth postcard in the Greetings from la Grande Couronne series. Find the first, second and third postcards as well.
The Grande Couronne is the second circle around Paris, which includes the Yvelines department.
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