Description of the attraction
The La Margineda Bridge is an ancient man-made structure, which is a magnificent monument of medieval engineering architecture and one of the most interesting historical architectural sights of Andorra. The medieval bridge, laid across the main river of the country - the Valira, is located in the Andorra la Vella district, in the small village of La Margineda, on the site where the high-altitude "royal road" that connected Andorra la Vella and the community once passed Sant Julia de Loria.
This stone bridge, built in Romanesque style, has an interesting long history. La Margineda was built in the XII century. and today it is the largest, at the same time the narrowest and best preserved bridge of its kind in Andorra.
The bridge is an ascetic arch spanning the Valira River. The arch is 33 meters long. The total height of this medieval building is 9.2 meters. The width of the bridge on one side reaches 5, 3 meters, on the other - 7, 8 meters, and in the narrowest place - only 2.5 meters. La Margineda was made of stone cobblestones and a special cement mortar. On both banks of the Valir, two stone pillars were erected, connecting the bridge spans in the form of a semicircular arch. Closer to the center, the bridge rises and becomes thinner, so the middle of the stone bridge is located slightly higher than the pillars and is its thinnest part. Based on the photographs from the early 20th century, the bridge has not undergone any major changes.
During the construction of the bridge, no decorative elements were envisaged; the main purpose of its construction was durability, reliability and monumentality.
Next to the La Margineda Bridge, there is a modern monument dedicated to the First Congress of Catalan Language and Literature. The monument, consisting of two arches, symbolizes the past and future of the country. The author of this work is the Valencian sculptor Vicens Alfaro.
La Margineda Bridge is a cultural heritage of Andorra and one of the most popular landmarks in the country.
