Pont Vell, Ibiza, Spain - SpottingHistory

Pont Vell is the ancient bridge which crosses the Riu de Santa Eulària (Santa Eulària river), the only river on the Spanish island of Ibiza. The bridge stands next to the modern road bridge on the western approach to the town of Santa Eulària des Riu. Today the bridges is only used as a footbridge with all other traffic restricted to the adjacent modern bridge.

Pont Vell was an important strategic crossing and was once the only way into Santa Eulària from the west. Its origins are considered to be Roman. The Rome Empire had made Ibiza a Federatae Civitae. The island was never conquered by the Romans and during a gradual period of Romanization the island saw an economic golden age which lasted from approximately 25 BC and AD 75. It is thought that it was during this period the first bridge was built by the Romans to access the north east Canton of the island. The bridge that stands today is probably built on the foundations of the Roman bridge. It has been estimated that this bridge was probably built in the sixteenth or seventeenth century.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Diseminado P 17 Sta Eulalia 125, Ibiza, Spain

See all sites in Ibiza

Details

Founded: 6th century AD
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Ibiza Cathedral (11,5 km)
Castell d'Eivissa (11,6 km)
Puig des Molins (11,9 km)
Sa Caleta Phoenician Settlement (21,1 km)

User Reviews

Bob Arkless (4 months ago)
Great spot for pictures, down steps to beach and nice reseraunt near by. Well.worth the 10 min walk.

Sieglinde Czer (10 months ago)
A beautiful natural parkland area with a good walkway back to the beach. The Riu de Santa Eulalia is the only river on the island, which flows back into the sea on the western side of the town.

Jason Stokes (3 years ago)
Nice walk up the side of the river, very easy from the bridge. We continued on following the route on the boards.

jonathan simons (3 years ago)
Very nice place to visit and see a piece of History

Roni Sidhu (4 years ago)
Nice peaceful place to stop

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright caminanteK

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.

Pont Vell