The Spanish village built on a 15-metre-high natural rock arch

The Spanish village built on a 15-metre-high natural rock arch

Spain is a country full of beautiful, and sometimes curious towns and villages, each with its own unique appeal. One such village has to be the Merindad de Valdeporres municipality of Puentedey, which is located in the province of Burgos. This tiny village was built on and around a natural arched bridge carved out of the rock, sitting fifteen metres above the Nela River.

This unusual little place, 86km north of the provincial capital of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon, has a population of just over 20 inhabitants. With the Nela River playing its part in the creation of this wonder of nature, its waters having carved out the huge archway over billions of years.

Local legend says that settlers passed through this area many hundreds of years ago, and due to its beauty, decided to stay, and so the village was created. Later on, residents attributed this natural wonder to God himself, who they claimed had personally grown the village atop this stunning bridge. It became known as ‘Puente Dei’, which means ‘Bridge of God’.

The ‘Bridge of God’ is a wonder of nature, more than 15 metres high. It is accompanied in such a stunning location by the 16th century, Renaissance-style, Palacio de Los Fernandez de Brizuela, which is made up of two towers joined together. Built in the Middle Ages as the residence of the Porras family, it has since been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.

There is also the church of San Pelayo, with its Romanesque remains. Although its construction date is not known for sure, it already existed in the 11th century, as reported by 20minutos.es.

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