The Misarela Bridge

There is a legend involving the Devil that is perhaps the most famous legend of the Tras-os-Montes region. It involves a medieval bridge that is actually located just inside the boundary of the district of Braga, but is part of the cultural region of the Barroso.

The Misarela Bridge (there is another Misarela bridge near A Pobra do Caraminal in Galicia named after a monastery that existed nearby) has been described as one of the most picturesque and at the same time mysterious bridges of Portugal.

There are two ways to reach the bridge. If you only want to visit the bridge, take this route which is closer, and possibly more beautiful:

Route One

Follow highway E.N. 103 as far as Ruivães (in the concelho of Vieira do Minho). After passing the fire department and a small aqueduct, which crosses the road, you find a sign indicating the Misarela Bridge. Turn left and descend the mountain until you arrive at a crossroads with a road that comes from the right. Take this road. It is an electric company road, made recently, and will take you to a dead-end near the junction of the Rabagão River with the Cávado River. Keep going down, and when you arrive at a curve near two high tension towers stop and park. From here on only on foot. Follow the trail that starts at the road. After about one kilometer you arrive at the bridge.

Route Two

Another route leaves the E.N. 103 at the Venda Nova dam. At the first crossroads (Ferral) turn left in the direction of the Vila Nova Hydroelectric Station and keep going down. Some kilometers farther you will find another crossroads. Here is the first sign indicating the bridge. Turn left and keep going down. Shortly you go by an excellent example of a traditional espigueiro, in stone. Pay attention to the signs. First you go through the village of Vila Nova, and when you arrive at Sidrós, right next to the sign, you see on the left a narrow cobblestone road. Take it. You arrive at a little chapel. Park in front of it and say goodbye to the car for a few hours.

It is a beautiful work of art, daringly suspended over the raging waters of the noisy Rabagão that flows in a canyon below before it meets the Cávado. It must have been impressive at the time of its construction in the middle ages. According to an old legend it was the Devil himself who built it, in a moment of fortunate ingenuity. The legend goes like this:

There once lived a feared bandit who was hiding in the remote mountains from the arm of justice. But someone gave away his hiding place. Seeing himself surrounded and lost, he tried to flee in desperation over the Rabagão. It was a dark night in winter. The wind blew sadly in the middle of the terrible storm. The waters of the swollen river, hurled themselves down the canyon into a sinister whirlpool of death. The bandit, who no longer had faith in God, called upon the Devil, invoking him at the exact moment of midnight. Satan appeared immediately and asked him what he wanted. The bandit promised to hand over his soul if Satan would help him to cross safely the frightening chasm of the raging river. The pact was made on the condition that the outlaw should walk straight ahead, never looking back. Then the Devil, opening his black wings over the banks of the river, caused to appear above the impetuous current a stone bridge. As quickly as possible, the bandit ran across without looking back. If he had he would have seen the bridge vanish into thin air before his pursuers could cross it.

Years passed and the criminal changed his life. Now he wanted to repent for his bad past. He was tormented by the certainty of his eternal perdition, for having sold his soul to the Devil. Quickly he sought out a virtuous priest who had a parish in the lands of the Barroso. Contrite and repentant, he confessed the sad misfortune. The good priest, who always lived in God’s grace, then decided to undertake the hard task of redeeming and rescuing this lost soul. He disguised himself as a humble farmer and on a dark night he also went down to that lonely and dangerous place where he also called upon the Devil at midnight, promising to give him his soul, if he would help him get across to the other side. And the evil bridge appeared over the turbulent torrent. At that same moment, the virtuous and astute priest took out from under his cape a vase of holy water that he sprinkled solemnly with a twig of heather (urze), at the same time that he recited the ritual words of exorcism. The black shape of Satan, hidden in a dense cloud of sulfur, disappeared as if by magic, leaving only the air filled with the smell of pitch and resin.

From that moment on, says the legend, the Devil’s Bridge remained forever, elegant and picturesque, perched over the banks of the Rabagão, in the gloomy place called Misarela.

The Barroso region preserves many folk practices. One of the more dramatic is the Midnight Baptism at Miserela Bridge, the very same bridge that was built by the Devil. This happens when a pregnant woman is prone to miscarriages or when her previous child was stillborn. The “baptism” takes place at midnight. When all is ready, the father and a friend, armed with sticks, stand guard at the ends of the bridge. They are warding off cats and dogs—which may be witches or the Devil in disguise. The first person that passes after the church bells strike midnight must perform this rite. He pours river water over the expectant mother’s belly and baptizes the child saying these words: “I baptize you, creature of God, by the power of God and the Virgin Mary. If you are a boy you will be Gervaz; if you are a girl you will be Senhorinha. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost . . .” But the final “Amen” must not be uttered. The child must wait for birth to be baptized properly and completely by the priest in church. Thus the healing powers of baptism are extended to cover this dangerous period. Later, the names of the child are usually those of the Miserela Bridge. It is very common in the Barroso and the Upper Minho to find the names of Gervaz and Senhorinha. In fact, Padre Fontes’ grandmother was called Senhorinha.