Ponferrada information
From the 11th century, the rise in pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela spurred the appearance of the hamlet of Pons Ferrata (Bridge of Iron), situated on the Pilgrim's Road to Santiago de Compostela and named in this way because of the building of a bridge reinforced with iron.
In the 12th century, the King Fernando II of León placed this flourishing settlement under the custody of the Order of the Temple. The Knights Templar (Los Templarios) used the place of a primitive Roman fortress in order to build a castle in which they settled and which, at the same time, protected the passing pilgrims.
Leon guide