Pont Valentré, The famous bridge at Cahors
The legend of the Pont Valentré The construction of the bridge lasted 70 years (1308 to 1378). In local folklore it is said that the foreman, exasperated by the slow pace of the work, signed a pact with the Devil. In the pact the Devil promised to use his skills expedite the work and, if he carries out all of the foreman's orders, then his (the foreman's) soul would be forfeit. Having seen the bridge built on time, the foreman regrets his decision and issues a final order to the devil to go and collect water for the other workers using a sieve. In revenge for having been tricked, the Devil sends a demon each night to loosen the final stone in the central tower (known as the Devil's Tower) to ensure that the bridge is never finished and must be repaired each day During the restoration of the bridge in 1879, the architect Paul Gout inserted a stone bearing the sculpted image of an imp into the central tower. As a result, according to the updated legend, every time the Devil checks to see that his vandalism has been carried out he is confused into thinking that the stone image is one of his demons tasked with dismantling the bridge
Size: 6720px × 4480px
Location: 1026 Côte d'Arbouis, 46000 Cahors, France
Photo credit: © Roger Hollingsworth / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: arch, bridge, cahors, devil, devils, fortification, france, legend, lot, pont, river, tower, valentré, valley
