Puente de los Franceses (Madrid) Puente de los Franceses (Madrid) The Puente de los Franceses (Bridge of the Frenchmen) railway viaduct is located in Madrid, Spain. Comprising five semi-circular brick skew arches, it was built in the second half of the 19th century to carry the railway line from the north (Madrid - Venta de Baños - Irun) across the River Manzanares. The bridge is named after the nationality of the engineers who devised the project, who were of French origin. The bridge is also known as the French Bridge. The bridge was built between 1860 and 1862, along with other construction work on the
Siege of Madrid as part of the Nationalist's campaign to take the capital: in March, at Guadalajara and at the end of December at Teruel, both north east of Madrid. In the first of these battles, in early 1937 Franco tried to cross the river Jarama to cut off the road between Madrid and Valencia, where the Republicans had moved their government. The battle's results were inconclusive. Franco's troops managed to get onto the east bank of the Jarama but failed to sever communications between Madrid and Valencia. Casualties on both sides were heavy, estimates of their losses ranging from 6,000 to 20,000