Assureira Bridge

Category: Civil Architecture > Bridge

District: Viana do Castelo > Melgaço > Assureira

Location:

The Assureira Bridge, sometimes also identified as São Brás Bridge, is located in the locality of Assureira, one of the historical winter settlements of Castro Laboreiro territory, in the municipality of Melgaço. This ancient bridge stands over the Barreiro Stream, a serene tributary of the Castro Laboreiro River, in a predominantly rural and isolated setting. Its position, a few kilometres from the centre of Castro Laboreiro, harmoniously blends into the landscape of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, offering genuine contact with the region's nature and heritage.

A Journey Through Millennia:

The origins of the Assureira Bridge date back to a distant past, with indications of its existence already in Roman times, when it played a crucial role as part of one of the main routes connecting Minho to Galicia. Over the centuries, and particularly during the Middle Ages, the bridge underwent successive maintenance and expansion interventions. These works, carried out in Romanesque style, involved the repurposing of materials from the original Roman structure and the widening of the deck, adapting it to the demands of the traffic of the time, which included larger carts. Its presence and importance were recorded in the parish's "Parochial Memories" as early as the 18th century, underscoring its historical and functional relevance over time.

Granite Architecture:

Built entirely of granite, the Assureira Bridge presents a robust and characteristic architecture, with a gently sloping, hump-backed deck, preceded by access ramps. Its structure rests on a single semicircular arch, whose voussoirs reveal a curious particularity: those on the eastern side consist of a single piece of granite, with more careful and finely dressed treatment, while those on the western side are formed by irregularly sized stones. The pavement reflects this diversity, with larger slabs on the eastern side and smaller ones on the western side, and is flanked by stone guardrails, also irregular, which give the bridge an authentic appearance integrated within the natural landscape. This bridge has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1992, a recognition of its heritage value.

Natural Setting:

Located in the heart of the Peneda-Gerês National Park, the Assureira Bridge is a remarkable example of how human work can merge with the grandeur of nature. The crystal-clear waters of the Barreiro Stream flow beneath its arch, surrounded by dense shrub vegetation, which rises from the rocky outcrops where the bridge rests. This place, intimately linked to the ancestral practice of transhumance in the region, provides an environment of serenity, ideal for those seeking moments of contemplation and who appreciate the wild beauty of Melgaço's landscape, where history and nature coexist in harmony.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt