Old Bridge of Vilaller
{{Infobox bridge|name = Old Bridge of Vilaller|image = Pont antic de Vilaller.jpg
|coordinates = {{coord|42.4772343|0.7148718|display=inline,title}}
|crosses = Noguera Ribagorçana|design = Arch bridge|locale = Vilaller, Alta Ribagorça, Catalonia|inaugurated = 17th century|collapsed = August 2nd 1963}}
The Old Bridge of Vilaller is an ancient bridge on the river Noguera Ribagorçana, currently in ruins. It is protected as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Local ({{ILL|Local Cultural Heritage site|es|Bien Cultural de Interés Local}}).«[http://patmapa.gencat.cat/web/guest/patrimoni/arquitectura?articleId=http://GAUDI_ELEMENTARQUITECTONIC_16138 Pont de Vilaller]» (en català).
Description
The bridge is a 17th-century construction that crosses the river Noguera Ribagorçana, linking the main center of Vilaller with the neighbourhood of Aragon located on the right bank of the river.«[http://www.ajuntamentdevilaller.cat/el-municipi/coneix-el-municipi Coneix el municipi]» (en català).
The original bridge had three arches, but was damaged during the flood of 1963 and lost two of them.
History
For many years the river was crossed by means of a lever located roughly where the bridge is situated. During the 16th century the village of Vilaller experienced a strong economic growth so that on August 15, 1686, the General Council of Vilaller petitioned to His Majesty Charles II of Spain the permission for building a stone three arched bridge where the lever had been until then. They engaged to build it and keep it.«[http://www.ajuntamentdevilaller.cat/fitxers/pdf/DOCUMENTACIO_ESCRITA/PDF/Memoria.pdf#page=24 POUM Vilaller]».
File:Pont vell Vilaller sencer.jpg
The bridge endured until the flood of August 2, 1963, when the river destroyed two of the three arches.«[http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1963/08/06/pagina-1/32673547/pdf.html Diari la Vanguàrdia explicant els aiguats]».
For some time, makeshift wooden planks over the ruins of the bridge allowed crossing the river, until June 1964 when a new bridge was built upstream.«[http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1964/03/29/pagina-29/32685694/pdf.html Diari la Vanguàrdia, construcció del pont nou]».
