In many parts of central and northern Europe, you can admire beautiful stone constructions that cross rivers and bodies of water called “devil’s bridges” because each in its construction history hides a hidden anecdote related to this figure demonic. These are stories, or simply tales and folk legends which, over the centuries, have led many curious people and tourists across Europe to discover these magnificent medieval bridges.
#1
These stone arches are found in Italy, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Romania, and Bulgaria, but the one we want to tell you today, really curious, takes place in Germany, on the border with Poland. In the Azalea and Rhododendron Park of Kromlau in the Saxony region is the Rakotzbrücke , the devil’s bridge. And the story behind the construction of this architectural work seems to come from the fervent imagination of an overly imaginative writer.
According to legend, the architect of the bridge would have made a pact with the demon: the price to pay for a bridge in the shape of a perfect arch would have been that no human being could ever cross it without avoiding falling into eternal damnation. . Very cleverly, the architect decided to put first… a dog!
#2
Many other legends circulate around this fascinating German bridge, including that according to which crossing it at night, during the full moon, with a sailboat makes it possible to discover the mystical powers of the architectural work, or even according to which the Rakotzbrücke bridge, seen from a certain angle, reveals the true face of the Devil.
The thing is, rumors aside, this extraordinary stone arch creates a perfect circle in the water below, and that’s enough to make the bridge a favorite destination for pilgrimages and cultural trips from around the world!