English

In medieval times, the region was known as’ Land of Nobrega ‘ancestor of the county of Ponte da Barca, and medieval district that already had in the ninth century the boundaries of the current county. This Earth was one of the many territorial constituencies in which our country was divided for administrative, judicial, military and religious.
The name, Nobrega, likely Celtic origin, indicates place and has fortified him of altaneiro castro he served as a defensive redoubt, located in the massive rock in the parish of Sampriz. Later, Ourigo Ourigues that, probably, was the first governor of the Land of Eldridge, (re) built the castle of Nobrega on the ruins of the old fort.
In the centuries XII and XIII, the population begins to decline on the banks of rivers, and thus founded what eventually became the town of Ponte da Barca. This is marked by an intersection of two roads connecting to Santiago de Compostela, one in the North-South (across the river), another in East-West direction (along the river).
The history of this town is the crossing of the River Lima, and was first called to Barca, because the crossing was made at the time only by a ferry, and then passed to Ponte da Barca, when construction of its first bridge, probably , In the middle of the fourteenth century.
With the construction of the bridge, the town reinforces its importance in trade and constitute a strong point, central and regional axis towards the coast.