The Alconétar Bridge first appears in records in 1231 and, again, in 1257, when it is explicitly referred to as being in use. It was probably repaired by the Knights Templar who had taken control of the bridge as well as the village in the meantime. The extant arches 1 and 3, both of which are not of Roman fabric, are assumed to date back to this period. Around 1340, however, the bridge was apparently unusable again, so that a ferry service was established to cross the river, which is also recorded at later times. On the site of the ancient way station, a fortress was erected in the Middle Ages; its tower built of Roman spolia emerges from the Alcántara reservoir at low water.