The Bridge of the Pilgrims (Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac)

For the pilgrims on the way to Santiago or to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, the Bridge of the Pilgrims, which was built at the end of the 14th or at the beginning of the 15th century, was the onlyplace where they could cross the river Boralde without wading.

The medieval cross on the bridge (dating from the 15th or 16th century) represents the Christ on Cross and, at his feet, the Virgin Mary and John the apostle. At the bottom of the cross a pilgrim can be seen : he wears a long hooded cloak and holds a staff (the traditional stick of the pilgrims) in his right hand, a rosary in hisleft hand.

The bridge on the Boralde, at Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac, is also called the Bridge of the Pilgrims

The often short and quick rivers that flow from the plateau of Aubrac and become a tributary of the Lot river are called « boraldes ».

Pilgrim with his staff