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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The medieval bridge of Châteauneuf-de-Chabre, also known as the Roman Bridge, is a three arched Roman-style work, probably built in the 14th or 15th century. Located in the commune of Châteauneuf-de-Chabre (Hautes-Alpes), it crosses the Méouge and stands out for its robust stone construction, unusual for a simple wooden bridge. Its exact usefulness remains mysterious: its route does not correspond to any economic or link between hamlets, but one hypothesis suggests that it served as an extension to a pastoral drail (transhumance path), financed by regional authorities to avoid conflicts between herds and preserve fragile agricultural lands.

Ranked a historic monument on December 18, 1981, the bridge has remarkable architectural features: a 28-metre apron sloping westward (3 m), a 2-metre width, and three arches, two of which are semi-circular to the west and a Gothic arch to the east, sign of a renovation. The abutments and batteries, reinforced on the upstream side, show an adaptation to the frequent floods of the Meuge. Nearby, a 19th century mill, now destroyed by a flood in 1901, was fed by a dam located 100 meters upstream, via a missing suspended canal.

A lime oven, probably contemporary from the mill, was supported by the bridge. Its loading mouth (2 meters higher) and access trail have disappeared, and the oven is now closed for safety reasons. The mill, on the other hand, would have worked only briefly, for lack of lasting traces. The bridge remains a rare testimony of the medieval infrastructures linked to pastoral and hydraulic activities in the Southern Alps, where aridity and rugged terrain made the permanent constructions exceptional.

The monument is located on Vicinal Road 4 and belongs to the municipality. Its state of conservation, despite the floods, and its ranking underline its heritage importance in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Questions about its sponsors and its exact function add to its historical mystery.

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