The Pont-Neuf is the oldest of Paris bridges and the first highway in France to accomodate an effigy. The original equestrian statue of Henri IV was melted down at the Revolution in 1792 and replaced by the Restoration with the present figure. Built in two halves between 1578 and 1604 to the designs of Androuet Du Cerceau, the bridge is on a broken axis. The 12 rounded arches each have a keystone carved with humorous grotesques.