Puente de Hierro Iron Bridge, Madrid

The Puente de Hierro del Parque del Capricho is an iron pedsritrian footbridge that spans a small stream in the El Capricho park to the north east of Madrid. This small and simplest bridge may only appear as a decorative feature in the pleasant parklands but the Puente de Hierro was the first an iron bridge constructed within Spain.

The Puente de Hierro Bridge was privately funded by the Duchess of Osuna as a decorative feature in the recreational gardens of the El Capricho estate. The El Capricho gardens were conceived in 1787 but work continued until 1839, the bridge itself was constructed in 5 years in 1830.

The Puente de Hierro was the first iron bridge built in Spain, constructed 12 years before the second much more substantial Puente de Triana located in Sevilla. The Puente de Hierro is a simple metal structure formed of two iron arcs with wooden steps and platform. This bridge may only appear as a simplistic structure but it was here that the start of the iron and industrial revolution for Spain occurred.

The Puente de Hierro lies within the Parque del Capricho Park and this park has very limited opening hours only open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between 9:00 to 18:30 (winter months) and 9:00 to 21:00 hours (summer season). The closest Metro station is El Capricho on line number 5 and bus that pass the park are 101, 105 and 151.

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