Puente la Reina Bridge

From Roman times until the 11th century, Puente la Reina was a humble commercial crossroad, where anything rarely happened. Suddenly when the Camino boomed, hundreds of pilgrims arrived daily. Queen Muniadona, wife of King Sancho III, commissioned the construction of the bridge so pilgrims could cross the Arga river. This impressive bridge is the one that gives name to the village, because Puente la Reina means “The Queen’s Bridge”.

Puente la Reina is considered the best Romanesque bridge in Spain. This majestic bridge served as a defensive silent guardian of the village and had three towers. Unfortunately, only part of one of them is still standing. We can see six of the seven arches that were constructed, the seventh one is hidden under the first house of the village. In springtime, the Arga river brings a lot of the melted snow from the Pyrenees, which is why they had to construct extra holes in the bridge, so the pressure of the water would not destroy it.

References:

• travelingsteps.es

Address

Paseo la Grana, Puente la Reina, Spain

Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Spain