Pont Valentré

The Pont Valentré (French pronunciation: [pɔ̃ valɑ̃tʁe]) (Occitan: Pont de Balandras; English: Valentré Bridge) is a 14th-century six-span fortified stone arch bridge crossing the river Lot to the west of Cahors, in France.

In local folklore it is said that the foreman, exasperated by the slow pace of the work, signed a pact with the Devil.

Having seen the bridge built on time, the foreman regrets his decision and issues a final order to the devil to go and collect water for the other workers using a sieve.

During the restoration of the bridge in 1879, the architect Paul Gout inserted a stone bearing the sculpted image of an imp into the central tower.

As a result, according to the updated legend, every time the Devil checks to see that his vandalism has been carried out, he is confused into thinking that the stone image is one of his demons tasked with dismantling the bridge.

Statue of a devilish imp , added during the 1879 restoration.