The Stone Bridge, Fortesë

The bridge was built over the Remnik river, which passes through the village of Fortesë. The village of Fortesë is 7 km southwest of Rahovec and is a locality that has been known and inhabited since the time of Roman rule over these lands. The chronological continuity of the settlement meant that this place was also inhabited in other periods, leaving architectural traces to the present day; among the evidence of this is the stone bridge.
Based on the construction technique, materials and form, the bridge is presumed to date from the 16th century. The bridge has been in uninterrupted use by the villagers from the time of its construction to the present day.
The bridge has one arch with a diameter of 7 m; its length is 10.7 m and its width about 4 m. The arch of the bridge was built in two rows of porous stone – tufa (siga). The part of the structure above the arch was built with broken limestone, bound with lime mortar. The roadway was paved with cobblestones, and towards the end of the 20th century it was levelled and laid with concrete slabs to adapt to motor traffic. 150 metres northeast of this bridge there is also a smaller stone bridge.
The presence of the archaeological site from the Roman period and of the two stone bridges are presented to us as material evidence of the age of this settlement and of the urban development that took place from the early Roman and medieval periods.
In 2011 the retaining walls of the Remnik river were built with limestone, and the old bridge was integrated into this complex, creating a distinctive cultural landscape.