Castrillo de los Polvazares

Castrillo de los Polvazares was built around the maragato arrieros — muleteers who hauled salted fish from the Galician coast inland, and returned loaded with cured meats and dry-land produce. Their houses reflect the trade directly: wide cart gates, interior courtyards, stables, and cellars. The original village was destroyed by flooding and rebuilt on its present site.

The arrieros held considerable power in the region, helped by the Maragatería's strategic position on the route between central Spain and Galicia. Their decline began when the railway reached nearby Astorga in 1866. The village remained an independent municipality until 1975, when it joined Astorga.

Two bridges mark the approaches to the village. The older one crosses the River Jerga and is built from rubble masonry — heavily altered over time, with a concrete deck at one end and rough old stone slabs at the other. The second bridge, at the entrance from the LE-142 road, dates from the early development of the Astorga–Ponferrada route.

It uses cut stone and masonry for its piers and abutments, topped with a metal deck supported by a lattice beam.