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Céret and the legend of the Devil bridge

The bridge | PMRMaeyaert / CC-BY-SA
Legend Sorcery Bridge Céret bridge

The bridge

French historian Prosper Mérimée described it like ″a ribbon over a precipice″. A real architectural exploit!

This amazing bridge was raised between 1320 and 1340. It has an only arch about 45 metres long, overlooking the river Tech.

From one side, you have the lovely massif of Canigou, and from the other side, the massif of Albères. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

In the Middle Ages, the bridge was the only way to reach the small city of Céret.

And like other medieval bridges, it has a very narrow passage! Pretty inadequate for modern traffic...

The Devil’s legend

We find the same legend for Valentré bridge in Cahors (Lot, Southern France) or for the bridge of Beaugency (Loiret, Central France).

The story says this bridge was raised by the Devil, in one night only!

He raised it, but asked something in exchange: the soul of the first creature who would cross the bridge.

Inhabitants, in the next morning, decided to unleash… a cat! Angry, the Devil vanished and let the bridge unfinished.

One only stone was missing! Inhabitants decided to put the last stone themselves, but they could not; the stone could not stop falling!

Too bad… the bridge would remain incomplete… indeed, 7 centuries after, the last stone is still missing, says the legend!

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!