Ponte das Caínheiras is a masonry bridge in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Melgaço, in the district of

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

, on the narrow traffic area over the Rio das Caínheiras. Locals often refer to the bridge as ''"O Diabo"'' (''The Devil'') owing to the frequent traffic tie-ups attempting to cross it.

History

The first reference to the bridge occurred on 11 May 1758 by Father Inácio Ribeiro Marques, in the '' Memórias Paroquiais'' of the parish. It is likely that the bridge was constructed at the end of the 18th century or beginning of the 19th century.

Architecture

The bridge is situated in a rural area harmoniously implanted within the

Peneda-Gerês National Park Peneda-Gerês National Park (, ), also known simply as Gerês, is a national park in Norte Region, Portugal. Created in May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. It covers an area of , occupying the Distric ...

. It is erected northwest of the winter pasturelands of Cainheiras, over the river Cainheiras, at about above cultivatable and forested lands. It is located some from the chapel of Senhora da Boavista and from the chapel of Senhora de Anamão. The bridge of Cainheiras is part of a network of vicinal roads south and east of Castro Laboreiro, in addition to the Minhoto-Galacia regional roadways that connected Castro Laboreiro with Melgaço, Arcos de Valdevez and Bande. Further, it connected Castro Laboreiro with Galicia to the east, in the direction of Celanova (through Portos and Seara) and south towards Entrimo and Lobios (through Ameixoeira). It is an arched bridge, with soft incline, over two arcs with long, regular staves, reinforced by triangular cutwaters. On the ramp are large rectangular stone blocks that act as railing. It is proceeded by a gentle incline from a curvilinear bend in the road on both sides. The arches are slightly uneven with a diameter, supported by long, regular staves. Between either arch are reinforcements: upstream, triangular cutwater and, downstream, rectangular struts. The ramp slabs are protected by guardrails formed by large blocks, reinforced by iron "staples".

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History

Architecture

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