Ghost Towns
In Spain there are examples of the three cases. Belchite, in the province of Zaragoza, was destroyed during the Civil War and left in ruins by Franco as a reminder of La Guerra. As for souvenirs of the Spanish property bubble, one case stands out among the countrys numerous failed housing schemes: near Seseña known as the Manhattan of Madrid an urban complex called Residencias Francisco Hernando was supposed to have had 30,000 dwellers and now lies completely empty.
In Spain there are examples of the three cases. Belchite, in the province of Zaragoza, was destroyed during the Civil War and left in ruins by Franco as a reminder of La Guerra. As for souvenirs of the Spanish property bubble, one case stands out among the countrys numerous failed housing schemes: near Seseña known as the Manhattan of Madrid an urban complex called Residencias Francisco Hernando was supposed to have had 30,000 dwellers and now lies completely empty.
If you hear the phrase “ghost town” you may think of Gary Cooper walking through the deserted New Mexico locality where everybody has turned their back on him –his wife (Grace Kelly) included–, leaving him to face the bad guys alone. Or you might think of Madonna’s single “Ghosttown”, released in March this year, where she describes a city after an apocalyptic destruction. But there are three types of ghost towns in today’s Western world: 1) towns destroyed by war and left untouched as mementos of human cruelty, 2) speculator’s abandoned construction megaprojects, and 3) villages abandoned by their dwellers.
In Spain there are examples of the three cases. Belchite, in the province of Zaragoza, was destroyed during the Civil War and left in ruins by Franco as a reminder of “La Guerra”. As for souvenirs of the Spanish property bubble, one case stands out among the country’s numerous failed housing schemes: near Seseña –known as the Manhattan of Madrid– an urban complex called Residencias Francisco Hernando was supposed to have had 30,000 dwellers and now lies completely empty.
But the beautiful image that accompanies this article features a Spanish village whose residents simply left for the nearest city, never to return. There are so many “pueblos” for sale in Spain that local businessmen (such as the owners of the web page aldeasabandonadas.com) have been selling them for years now, at prices that Europeans not hit by the economic crisis consider cheap. British bargain hunters are heading this crusade to snatch up the country’s splendid rural hamlets. But beach-loving Brits must keep in mind that most of the abandoned villages are in the North, in the lush green provinces of Galicia and Asturias. Who hasn’t dreamt when playing with Legos of owning a whole town?
