El Pont de Queralt, Romanesque stone bridge in Vic, Spain

El Pont de Queralt is a Romanesque bridge over the Mèder River in Vic, on the route of the old Roman road to Barcelona. It has four semicircular arches of different sizes resting on three piers, with triangular cutwaters and small arches above the piers to lighten the structure. It is 35 m long and 3 m wide, and today connects Carrer de Sant Francesc with the old town.

Built in the 11th century over the Mèder on the road from Vic to Barcelona, following the line of an earlier Roman route, the bridge long served as the only access to the city. It was restored in 1472 at the end of the war with John II, its parapet was partly repaired in 1769, and its pillars were consolidated in 1863 after heavy rains. After 1840 the arch nearest the walls was suppressed for the ring road, and the section by the walls was blown up at the end of the Civil War, with restoration completed in 1940.

Locals also call it Pont de Sant Francesc or de la Calla. It was long the only way into Vic from the Barcelona road, and the name Queralt comes from the old city gate it faced. The bridge is listed as a Cultural Asset of Catalonia.

Access is straightforward and the crossing works well for most people, with gradual slopes that make the walk manageable without steep climbs. It is best to visit when dry, as the stone surface can become slippery, especially after rain.

The triangular profiles on the pillars and the small arches above them, called arcons, are later medieval additions also found on bridges of the same period. They were meant to make the structure more slender and reduce the dead load, and they sit above the cutwaters that split the current of the Mèder.