Mediano, a place of worship that sinked

Somewhere between Aínsa and Barbastro, lies the ruins of a town that disappeared underwater. Depending on which season you are visiting, you'll be able to either walk or paddle around the 16th-century church!

Under Franco's Spain, the country looked after providing enough electricity for its population; and they decided to build reservoirs to do so. That led to sacrifice villages happening to find themselves on the way to the constructions and future lake.

Mediano was one of them and sank in 1969 as the reservoir opened without signal leaving the inhabitants to pack their lives and walk away from home as the flood arrived with the water level rising.

I visited the place by the end of summer when the weather was warm and dry. The water level was extremely low, and I could walk on a dirt track leading to the church. All around me were rocks spread on the ground, remains of houses taken away by water flows.

I wandered around the church and noticed a clearly marked line, just above the bell. This showed where the level of water would normally be and this line must have been over 10m high.

I stood before the entrance gate of the church and looked through an opening within the brick wall obstructing the entrance to see the inside of this worship place.

After spending an hour wandering around, I turned my back to the church and walked away from a town that some days will only be a memory and will still exist through tales of whom have seen it for their eyes.

Mediano stock images right here

To be fair, there isn't much to see but the church itself, yet I still think the place is worth being visited... And if you do visit, know that there are a few more things to see nearby, for you to spend the day wandering around.

Interested in visiting the place?... Check out the map below.