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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Roman bridge of Châteauponsac, located in the Haute-Vienne department, is a medieval building dating from the 14th century. Although its name evokes an ancient origin, its architectural style is an advanced Gothic style, as evidenced by its arches in sharp arches and slender forebeks. A Gallo-Roman stone re-used in the masonry suggests, however, an ancient occupation of the site, possibly linked to a secondary Roman road.

In 1609, the bridge, seriously damaged and threatening to ruin, was rebuilt with a £2,400 grant from King Henry IV. This episode illustrates the strategic importance of the book for local communications. During the Second World War, the Resistance dynamized one of its arches in 1944 to obstruct the German advance, an act that required further reconstruction in the same way.

Ranked a historic monument on January 25, 1990, the bridge retains remarkable features, such as its slender central pile and its medieval paved path leading to Lémade. Owned by the department, there remains a testimony of medieval construction techniques and historical stakes related to communication routes in Limousin.

The bridge crosses the Gartempe and today supports the departmental road 44, stressing its continuing role in the local road network. Its architecture, marked by very sharp avant-becs, reflects both a defensive function against floods and a late Gothic aesthetic. The presence of a re-used Gallo-Roman stone adds an archaeological dimension to this emblematic monument of Châteauponsac.

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