The Land of Seine and Oise

Carte Postale d'Yvelines #1

Dear friends,

Look at this lady, relaxing in the sun, with a mask as a sign of the times. She is the Seine and found her place at one end of the Georges Pompidou bridge in Le Pecq. On the same end, but across the street, is her friend Oise. When this bridge was inaugurated, it was in the département of Seine-et-Oise, but that has since been split in an administrative reshuffle in France in 1968 and the bridge is now in the Yvelines département. So, Seine and Oise are not coming together here, at this point. It's just the Seine that flows along under this bridge. But it used to be the land of the Seine and Oise rivers, here.

Did you know that in the old days, statues were used as counterweights for the horizontal weight of the bridge? Well, apparently they were, just like the Seine and Oise statues on this bridge. Nowadays, they have found different ways to manage all the forces that exercise their power on bridges, so statues are no longer needed. Fortunately, we still have these.

Cordially yours,

Arjan

PS: I'm planning on sending you these digital postcards once a month. Let me know if you'd like that.

PS II: If you like this postcard, help me pay for postage for more by buying me a coffee.

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