The restored village of Búbal

Complejo Búbal Formigal 3000 - Inici what to do The restored village of Búbal
SEARCH

Tipus Habitació
Quantitat
Distribució 1

The restored village of Búbal

  •  pueblo recuperado de bubal pueblo recuperado de bubal pueblo recuperado de bubal

Información

The origins of the complex date back to the construction of the Búbal Reservoir in the 1960s, a time when hundreds of dams were built in Spain to foster the economic development of many towns and villages. However, a number of them were also destined to disappear, which was the case of Búbal.

What was once the municipality of Búbal was located about 15 km from Biescas, in the depression formed by the Tena Valley carved out by the River Gállego in the heart of the Aragonese Pyrenees. It was an unrivalled location for the construction of a dam and reservoir. This spot having been chosen, the lands of Búbal would be flooded by the waters contained by the dam, and its inhabitants forced to leave.

Many workers spent years building the dam, which was opened in 1971. The water contained by it and stored in the 65-cubic hectometre reservoir flooded close to 200 hectares, mainly farmland belonging to the village of Búbal, a municipality that for more than ten years lay under the waters, but years later began to re-emerge from its slumber.

Despite the fact that almost the entire land area of the municipality lay underwater, a situation that continues to this day, the highest part was never flooded. The owners of those houses, however, had their lands flooded, which left them no alternative but to emigrate in search of new opportunities.

The fact that part of the village was above water and on the shore of the reservoir made it possible in the 1980s, specifically in 1984, for the Programme for the Restoration of Abandoned Villages, a joint effort by the Government of Aragon, Spanish Ministries of Education and Science, the Environment, and Housing to come up with a plan to restore the village.

Since that time, hundreds of children and school groups come to Búbal on summer camps every summer to restore the buildings and streets of the village, which after several decades of work can now be enjoyed in its magnificent setting, including its 18th-century church of San Martín.

Given its particular history and its architecture, we recommend that all visitors should experience the restored village of Búbal.