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Origin and history

The old Balizy Bridge, known as the Templar Bridge, is a stone work from the 4th quarter of the 13th century, located in Longjumeau (Essonne). He crossed the Rouillon, a tributary of the Yvette, and was a key element of the Balizy Commanderie, founded in 1288 by the Templars. This three-arched bridge, now lost in an undergrowth, carries an engraved pottery cross, a symbol associated with the Templars and the Hospitallers. It was rediscovered in 1930 by the archaeologist Chaudin and enrolled in the Historical Monuments in the same year.

The command office of Balizy, created after the purchase of land by Jehan de la Tour (1,400 livres parisis) and validated by Philip IV le Bel in 1289, included a pavilion, a chapel and 110 acres of land. The Templars held seigneurial rights (justice, common oven, fishing in the Yvette) before the estate passed to the Hospitallers after the dissolution of their order. The bridge, the only vestige visible today, was restored from 1967 by the Renaissance Association and Culture of Longjumeau.

In 1974, a potted cross was discovered on a main arch stone, although its exact attribution (Templars or Hospitallers) remains uncertain. The revenues of the command office, increased from 30 pounds in 1529 to 4,000 pounds in 1757, testify to its economic importance before its division into 19 plots during the Revolution. The bridge, a private property, remains a symbol of the Templar heritage in Île-de-France.

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