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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The Laval Bridge, located in Puycelsi, Occitanie, is a historical monument built between the 14th and 15th centuries. This 86-metre-long, local limestone structure was composed of three arches in the middle of the hangar and allowed to cross the Vère, a river prone to heavy floods in medieval times. Its broken line layout, unusual, reflects the topographical and hydraulic constraints of the time.

Originally, this bridge was used as a passageway between Puycelsi and the village of Laval, where a medieval religious community was located. Its role was essential for local exchanges and travel between these two locations. In 1974, the course of the True was diverted during a re-memberment, making the bridge obsolete. Disused since then, there remains an architectural testimony of medieval construction techniques and the territorial organization of the period.

The Laval Bridge was inscribed in the Historic Monuments by order of February 27, 1991, thereby recognizing its heritage value. Owned by the commune of Puycelsi, it illustrates the adaptation of the infrastructure to the needs of the rural populations of the Middle Ages, in an area marked by agricultural and religious activities. Today, although disused, it retains a symbolic dimension for the local heritage.

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