Puntos de Interés
Infrastructure
Santander - Mediterranean Iron Bridge
The Paseo de San Prudencia is home to a significant number of monuments that have been privileged witnesses to the flow of the Duero River as it passes through Soria. The more contemporary statues, situated on the riverbank, contrast with the older buildings that date back to the Middle Ages, such as the Monastery of San Juan de Duero, as well as more modern ones, such as the Lavadero de Lanas or the Molino de Enmedio. It would be remiss not to include the Iron Bridge of Soria, a late representative of the Industrial Revolution, in this "walk through time.”
The Iron Bridge was designed to overcome the natural barrier presented by the Duero River to the railway that would cross it. The railway line was constructed in 1929 as part of the unfinished Santander-Mediterranean line project, which was intended to link the Cantabrian capital with Valencia. The economic crisis and subsequent Civil War brought an end to the established plan, which despite the intention to recover it after the war, resulted in a final route of 367 km from Merindad de Valdeporres (Burgos) to Calatayud (Zaragoza).
The Iron Bridge, with its 360 tons of iron arranged in a 70 m length and 10 m height, and the use of more than 30,000 rivets (a piece like a screw, but without thread, used to make the joints between metal parts), was ready to support the railways of the time. Following its inaugural test run in August 1929, several weight checks were conducted over the following months until 21 October of the same year, when the Soria-Calatayud line was officially inaugurated with the first passengers. Fourteen years later, a new line would connect Soria with Castejón (Navarre) via the Iron Bridge. For over half a century, thousands of passengers travelled the lands around the Iberian System until 1985, when the line was closed to passenger traffic. However, it continued to be used for freight transport for another 10 years, until the government authorised the lifting of the track in 1995.
From that point onwards, the Iron Bridge of Soria was left to its own devices. However, in 2010, the city council implemented the Tourism Revitalisation Plan, which led to a series of reforms and the installation of a lighting system using LED technology with blue and cold white tones. This enhanced the monument's prominence on the Duero River by highlighting the metal structure.