Ponferrada
Camino Francés · Camino de Invierno
LeónCastilla y León
Here Camino Francés and Camino de Invierno converge. It is one of the points where the pilgrim shares the way with those arriving by another route.
From the Latin Pons Ferrata 'iron bridge', referring to the bridge over the river Sil reinforced with iron bands by order of Bishop Osmundo of Astorga in the 11th century to secure pilgrim passage.
Evolution of the name
- Pons Ferrata medieval Latin 11th century
- Ponferrada Castilian / Leonese from the 12th century
Reflections, to the letter
When you cross the Sil at Ponferrada, look down at the piers. The town's name comes from medieval Latin pons ferrata, “iron-bound bridge”: Bishop Osmundo of Astorga had it reinforced with iron clasps and rails around 1082, so pilgrims could cross without losing their footing. Ferrata is the past participle of the Latin verb ferrāre, “to bind with iron”, the root of the whole family you've seen and will see: hierro (Spanish for iron) and herrar, ferrocarril (railway) and ferretería (hardware shop), the Cruz de Ferro you passed two days ago and the via ferrata that climbs mountains. The city grew around the bridge and kept the name. The Templar Castle, of the 12th century, was given custody of this stretch of the Camino into the Bierzo: the order's most important fortress in the peninsula after Portuguese Tomar.
Sources
- Cocheril, M. — Études sur le monachisme en Espagne et Portugal (París-Lisboa, 1966)
- Martínez Díez, G. — Los Templarios en los reinos de España (Barcelona: Planeta, 1993)
- Quintana Prieto, A. — El Bierzo histórico (Ponferrada: Peñalba, 1956)
- Corominas, J. & Pascual, J.A. — Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (Madrid: Gredos, 1980–1991, s.v. hierro, herrar)
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Camino Francés