These photos may appear to be from a Hollywood movie set, but they depict a Spanish community that was abandoned over 30 years ago.
Hundreds of people were forced to leave their houses in Aceredo, near Lobois, in 1992 to make room for a reservoir. Residents were forced to relocate when a Portuguese hydroelectric project closed its floodgates, the Limia river flooded the valley where Aceredo is located.
Five communities in the province of Ourense battled eviction threats but were unsuccessful, and all were forced to depart. Since then, Aceredo has been submerged, reappearing only when the Lindoso reservoir reaches dangerously low levels – which is exactly what is happening right now.
On Monday, photos were shot of a largely preserved, but ghostly Aceredo. The stone structures of the village have survived, although many of the roofs have fallen. In the three decades that it has been underwater, mud has filled doorways and all metal work has rusted.
However, after the flood waters receded, the contours of the fields, as well as roads and walkways, resurfaced. Abandoned automobiles, personal belongings, and even bottles stay perfectly straight on shelves and tables among the ruins of houses, creating frightening vistas. Even though no one is left to drink from the village water fountain, it continues to run.
Many of Aceredo’s families still reside in the region, and individuals were observed roaming around the lonely town on Monday, looking for signs of the long-gone community. Aceredo, on the other hand, has become a tourist attraction, with crowds forming even when the village reappears.
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The problems arose when Spain and Portugal agreed to build the Lindoso dam using their border rivers. The dam’s construction came at a cost: the confiscation of land and dwellings in Aceredo, A Reloeira, Buscalque, O Bao, and Lantemil, five settlements in the vicinity. Many people in Aceredo were originally averse to talks with the Portuguese electrical provider EDP, as they had no wish to leave.
The contract was completed when 51 per cent of homeowners consented to leave, and a forcible seizure of land was publicised, forcing the remainder of the hamlet to leave as well.
All of the settlements have been lost to the Lindoso reservoir hydropower plant waters some three decades later, with Aceredo being the only one to resurface when the water levels decreased.
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