Puente de Piedra (Zaragoza)
Encyclopedia
Puente de Piedra - Bridge
across the river Ebro
in the Zaragoza
(Spain
). Puente de Piedra is also called the Bridge of Lions because four lions (symbols of the city) are placed on the pillars at both sides of the bridge.
in 1643 destroyed two central bridge spans. Since then the bridge looked as you can see in the picture "View of Zaragoza" by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo
(1647).
In 1659 the bridge was reconstructed. Architect Felipe de Busignac restored two destroyed towers and expanded the bridge piers. In 1789, architect Agustín Sanz strengthened the Ebro coast to the Monastery of St. Lazarus to prevent the risk of the flooding of the bridge. The reconstruction of the bridge was of great economic importance for the development of the region and all the country.
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
across the river Ebro
Ebro
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
in the Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). Puente de Piedra is also called the Bridge of Lions because four lions (symbols of the city) are placed on the pillars at both sides of the bridge.
History
Since the XII century the citizens of Zaragoza tried to build a bridge across the Ebro . In 1401-1440, the stone bridge was built under the direction of Gil de Menestral. The floodFlood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
in 1643 destroyed two central bridge spans. Since then the bridge looked as you can see in the picture "View of Zaragoza" by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo
Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo
Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo was a Spanish Baroque portrait and landscape painter, the most distinguished of the followers of Velázquez, whose style he imitated more closely than did any other artist...
(1647).