The Stone Bridge

Valderrobres could hardly have a more spectacular entrance than the one provided by the impressive medieval bridge and the Portal de San Roque. Fundamental piece of its architecture and perfectly recognizable image wherever our town is mentioned. The construction of the bridge seems to be associated with the construction of its walls, so we could date the beginning of the works to build it around 1390, with the request that the archbishop García Fernández de Heredia made to King Juan I to build these fortifications. It would be much more difficult to state with certainty the date of its completion, probably in the early fifteenth century and Valderrobres being under the prelature of Dalmau de Mur, also responsible for the highest floors of our castle. It is a completely medieval bridge, with four spans, extremely solid and provided with wedge-shaped cutwaters designed to protect it from strong floods and prevent the accumulation of logs. In the 16th century, the Town Hall was built on its last span, thus modifying the appearance of the bridge in its final section when it connects with the square. The bridge crosses the old main gate of access to the walled enclosure. At the end of the 16th century this gate was consecrated to San Roque, protector against epidemics and patron saint of the town, remaining today as one of the best preserved gates of the whole complex.