Puente la Reina Romanesque Bridge

Puente la Reina (Basque Gares) is a municipality with 2840 inhabitants. In Puente la Reina, the Aragonese and Navarrese branches of the Way of St. James meet, the common path crossing the Arga river via the bridge of the same name.

The name and development are linked to the bridge donated by Dona Mayor, Queen of Navarre, wife of King Sancho Mayor, or her daughter-in-law. Despite all the uncertainty regarding the founder, the construction of the bridge in the first half of the 11th century is certain.

Because river crossings were dangerous, detours were long and ferry services expensive, the streams of pilgrims soon concentrated on this bridge. This was followed by the settlement of Franks and the founding of a market town. The development of the city is an example of the infrastructure projects of this time and their effect, and can often be found in a comparable form on the Way of St. James.

In 1122 it received city rights, from 1235 the construction of the city wall began. García IV donated the city to the Templars, and after their dissolution at the beginning of the 14th century, it passed to the Hospitallers.

"... I reach Puente la Reina, the town named after the bridge that Queen Dona Major built in the 11th century. Here the Navarese and Aragonese Ways of St. James meet. The pilgrims needed a safe passage across the Argo River ... With the bridge, the pilgrims no longer had to put up with long detours. And with the bridge, merchants and traders settled. The town of the same name came into being."
(Jo Hagen in "Buen Camino. Diary ... on the Way of St. James".
ISBN 978-3-753-45397-2)

The Franciscan Friar Peter Fobes writes in his pilgrim guide:
"More than with other pilgrimages, it is not only the destination that is important for Santiago, but also the way to get there... The actual experience of St. James is only accessible to those who, if possible, cover the entire route from home to their destination. Everywhere in Europe There are roads or paths that have been called the Way of St. James from time immemorial... The pilgrimage roads from the areas north of the Pyrenees converge in Puente la Reina, from where there is only one Way of St. James to Santiago - the actual Camino with its hostels."
(Peter Fobes OFM in "Pilgrims of the Centuries", B.Kuehlen Verlag 2011)