Carries Vehicular traffic Material Stone No. of spans 3 Height 98 m | Locale Ronda Total length 66 meters Construction started 1751 Location Ronda | |
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Crosses Guadalevín River in El Tajo gorge Address Calle Armiñán, s/n, 29400 Ronda, Málaga, Spain Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursSuggest an edit Similar Guadalevín, La Casa del Rey Moro, Alameda del tajo, Mondragon Palace, Museo Lara | ||
Ronda spain puente nuevo bridge el tajo gorge
The Puente Nuevo ([ˈpwente ˈnweβo], "New Bridge") is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the 120-metre (390 ft)-deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda, in southern Spain. The architect was José Martin de Aldehuela, who died in Málaga in 1802. The chief builder was Juan Antonio Díaz Machuca.
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The construction of the newest bridge (the one that stands today) was started in 1759 and took 34 years to build. There is a chamber above the central arch that was used for a variety of purposes, including as a prison. During the 1936-1939 civil war both sides allegedly used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents, killing some by throwing them from the windows to the rocks at the bottom of the El Tajo gorge. The chamber is entered through a square building that was once the guard-house. It now contains an exhibition describing the bridge's history and construction.
Construction of the previous bridge started in 1735, this was the first attempt to span the gorge at this height and was completed by the architects Jose Garcia and Juan Camacho using a single arch design. Unfortunately, this bridge was quickly and poorly built and in 1741 the entire bridge collapsed resulting in the death of 50 people.