Devil's Bridge

{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2019}}

File:Little Devil's Bridge over the Russ, above Altdorft, Swiss-d, from Liber Studiorum, part IV.jpg]]

The bridges that fall into the Devil's Bridge category are so numerous that the legends about them form a special category in the Aarne-Thompson (AT) classification system for folktales (Number 1191).{{cite web |first= D. L. |last= Ashliman |author-link= D. L. Ashliman|url= http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1191.html |title= The Devil's Bridge: folktales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 1191 |type= private website |publisher= D. L. Ashliman |location= Pittsburgh, USA |access-date= 2016-10-03}}{{unreliable source?|reason= Personal website, lacking public recognition?|date= October 2016}} Some legends have elements of related folktale-categories, for example Deceiving the Devil (AT #1196), The Devil's Contract (AT #756B), and The Master Builder legends.{{citation needed|date= May 2016}}

One version of the tale presents the bridge builder and the Devil as adversaries. This reflects the fact that frequently, such as in the case of the {{lang | de | Teufelsbrücke}} at the St Gotthard Pass, these bridges were built under such challenging conditions that successful completion of the bridge required a heroic effort on the part of the builders and the community, ensuring its legendary status.

Other versions of the legend feature an old lady or a simple herder who makes a pact with the Devil. In this version the devil agrees to build the bridge, in return receiving the first soul to cross it. After building the bridge (often overnight) the devil is outwitted by his adversary (for example, by throwing bread to lure a dog over the bridge first) and is last seen descending into the water, bringing peace to the community.

In the case of the {{lang | de | Steinerne Brücke}} in Regensburg, the legend speaks of the devil helping in a race between the builders of the bridge and of the cathedral (in fact a significantly later construction), and a slight bump in the middle of the bridge is said to result from the devil's leaping with rage upon being tricked out of his prize.

In the legend of {{lang | de | Teufelsbrück}} in Hamburg, which leads only over a small stream, the carpenter, in a pact with the devil, promised him the first soul to cross the bridge. On the day of inauguration, while the priest and county councillor debated who should step on the bridge first, a rabbit crossed it and the disappointed devil disappeared. A statue refers to the legend there.

The legend of {{lang | it | Ponte della Maddalena}} in Borgo a Mozzano, Province of Lucca, tells of a local saint (often Saint Julian, the Hospitaller) who makes the pact with the devil.{{Cite book|title= The Chronicles of Julian, the Hospitaller|last= Bernardi|first= Eduardo|publisher= Higuma Limited|year= 2018|isbn= 978-0-473-43697-1|location= New Zealand|pages= Books 1–5}} On the day of delivery, the saint sets fire to a dog or a pig, which crosses the bridge and deceives the devil.

At Sens, a thirteenth-century legend tells of an architect who sold his soul to the devil and then subsequently repented. M. le Curé of Sens drove the devil away with holy water and with an exorcism formula beginning with the words Vade retro satana, which he made the penitent repeat.[https://books.google.com/books?id=A74RAAAAYAAJ&dq=Vade+retro+satana&pg=RA1-PA683 "Odd Phrases in Literature", The Irish Quarterly Review, Volume 6, Part 1, 1856, note p. 683]

The formula was, at some time, incorporated into the design of the popular Saint Benedict Medal.

Most of the bridges that have received the "Devil's Bridge" appellation are remarkable in some regard, most often for the technological hurdles surpassed in building the bridge, but on occasion for its aesthetic grace as well, or for its economic or strategic importance to the community it serves.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

{{incomplete list|date=December 2019}}

• Devil's Bridge – Antigua

• Puente La Noria – Buenos Aires

• Dyavolski most (Дяволски мост) – near Ardino

• Puente del Común - Chía

File:Tartu_asv2022-04_img55_Kuradisild.jpg in Tartu Estonia]]

• Kuradisild – Tartu

File:Pont du Diable - Céret.JPG in Céret, southern France]]

There are 49 Devil's Bridges in France,{{cite book |first=Graham |last=Robb |title=The Discovery of France |page=131 |publisher=Picador |date=2007 |location=Hampshire, England |isbn=978-0-330-42761-6}} including:

• Pont du Diable – Aniane, Gorges de l'Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon
• Pont du Diable – Villemagne-l'Argentière, Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon
• Pont du Diable – Beaugency
• Pont du Diable – Céret
• Pont du Diable (Ariège) – near Foix
• Pont du Diable – Olargues
• Pont Valentré (Pont du Diable) – Cahors
• Pont du Diable – Crouzet Migette
• Pont du Diable – Sens
• Pont du Diable − La Forclaz

File:Rakotzbrücke.jpg – Saxony]]

• Rakotzbrücke, Azalea and Rhododendron Park Kromlau – Saxony
• {{ill|Brickegickel|de|vertical-align=sup}} – FrankfurtDie Sachsenhäuser Brücke zu Frankfurt. Mündlich, aus Frankfurt. In: Brothers Grimm: Deutsche Sagen. Band 1. Berlin 1816, S. 267–268 (Wikisource)
• Teufelsbrück – Hamburg
• Steinerne Brücke – Regensburg
• {{ill|Teufelsbrücke|de|Teufelsbrücke (Mannheim)|vertical-align=sup}} – Mannheim
• Teufelsbrücke—Inzigkofen{{Cite web|date=2014-11-03|title=Teufelsbrücke & Felsentor {{!}} Fürstliche Anlagen Inzigkofen bei Sigmaringen {{!}} Oberschwabens Sehenswürdigkeiten|url=https://www.oberschwaben-tipps.de/teufelsbruecke-felsentor-bei-inzigkofen/|access-date=2021-08-05|language=de-DE}}

• Ponte del Diavolo – ruins of a Roman bridge along Via Traiana near Montecalvo Irpino, Campania
• Ponte del Diavolo – Ascoli Piceno, Marche
• Ponte del Diavolo – Blera, Lazio
• Ponte del Diavolo (officially Ponte Vecchio, also {{ill|Ponte Gobbo|it}}) – Bobbio, Emilia Romagna
• Ponte del Diavolo or Ponte della Maddalena – Borgo a Mozzano, Tuscany
• Ponte del Diavolo – Cavallara (a frazione of Gualdo Cattaneo, Umbria)
• {{ill|Ponte di Annibale|it}} – Cerreto Sannita, Campania
• {{ill|Ponte del Diavolo (Cividale del Friuli)|it|lt=Ponte del Diavolo}} – Cividale, Friuli
• Ponte del Diavolo – Civita, Calabria
• Ponte del Diavolo (Su ponti de su tiaulu or Su ponti de is aremigus) – Decimomannu, Sardinia
• Ponte del Diavolo (Ponte Vecchio) – Dronero, Province of Cuneo, Piedmont
• {{ill|Ponte Fabio Massimo|it}} – Faicchio, Campania
• {{ill|Ponte del Diavolo (Lanzo Torinese)|it|lt=Ponte del Diavolo}} – Lanzo Torinese, Piedmont
• {{ill|Ponte del Diavolo (Torcello)|it|lt=Ponte del Diavolo}} – Torcello, Veneto

• Duivelsbrug – Breda

• {{ill|Елен Скок|mk|lt=Elen Skok}} – Reka

• Puente del Diablo (or Punta del Diablo) – Binangonan, Philippines

• Ponte da Mizarela – Braga District

• Moara Dracului ("The Devil's mill") – Câmpulung Moldovenesc

• {{ill|Чёртов мост (БАМ)|ru|lt=Chertov Most}} – bypass route around the Severomuysky Tunnel, Buryatia

• Hudičev most – Bohinj
• Hudičev most – Tolmin

• Puente del Diablo – Cueto, Spain
• Puente del Diablo – Martorell
• Aqüeducte de les Ferreres – Tarragona{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

• Pont du Saut de Brot — {{ill|Gorges de l'Areuse|fr}}{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
• Teufelsbrücke – St Gotthard Pass
• {{ill|Teufelsbrücke (Egg)|de}} – Hamlet of Egg, municipality of Einsiedeln, canton of Schwyz
• See W. Turner's etching: Little Devil's Bridge over the Russ, above Altdorft, Swiss.d. The old bridge has collapsed.

File:Devils-bridge-pano.JPG, Wales]]

• Devil's Bridge (Pontarfynach), Ceredigion, Wales{{cite web | url=http://www.tourism.ceredigion.gov.uk/saesneg/dbridge.htm | work=Ceredigion Tourism | title=Devil's Bridge | access-date=2011-01-16 | archive-date=2012-09-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918004333/http://www.tourism.ceredigion.gov.uk/saesneg/dbridge.htm | url-status=dead }}
• Devil's Bridge – Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria{{cite web |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=373 |title=Devil's Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale |author= |website=Engineering Timelines |access-date=2019-11-09 }}
• Devil's Bridge – Horace Farm, Pennington Parish, Cumbria{{cite web | url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-75879-devils-bridge-pennington | work=British listed buildings | title=Devils Bridge, Pennington | access-date=2011-01-16}}
• Devil's Bridge – Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset (1841 bridge over railway){{cite web | work=British Listed Buildings | title= The Devils Bridge, Weston Super Mare|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-33187-the-devils-bridge-weston-super-mare| access-date=2011-01-16}}
• Devil's Bridge – in the grounds of Weston Park, Staffordshire (18th-century listed bridge in form of grotto){{cite web | work=British Listed Buildings | title= The Devils Bridge Weston Park, Weston Underwood |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-351159-the-devils-bridge-weston-park-weston-und | access-date=2011-01-16}}
• Devil's Bridge – Pontwalby, Glynneath, Wales{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
• Devil's Bridge – Mossley Hill, Liverpool{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
• Devil's Bridge – Worm's Head, Rhossili, Gower, Wales (a natural arch)

• Devil's Bridge – Sedona, Arizona,{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatsedonahikes.com/devilsbr/devilsbr.htm|title=GREAT SEDONA HIKES|last=Bill|website=www.greatsedonahikes.com|access-date=2017-03-25}} although this is a naturally formed bridge, not a man-made stone bridge

• Bridge of Arta
• Moon bridge – a highly rounded arched pedestrian bridge associated with gardens in China and Japan.

{{Reflist}}

Category:European folklore

Category:Medieval architecture

Category:Bridges

Category:The Devil in legend