Esco, Spain

Church of San Miguel, Esco

We stumbled across this amazing little Spanish ghost town in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  One of the benefits of renting a van for the trip was that we had a lot of control over our schedule, so when opportunities like Esco presented themselves we could pull off the road and explore them.

Esco, an abandoned Spanish hill town (click to enlarge)

Graffiti on crumbling walls

We knew nothing about this town when we wandered through it.  We didn't know when it was built or why or how it was abandoned.  There was graffiti on some of the walls and broken wine bottles in some of the buildings, but that debris seemed to be relatively recent.  The roofs and interior floors of the houses had all collapsed, although many of the stone walls remained.  The only sign of life was a small farm nestled in the far end of the town.

Only 4 people remain, tending sheep

Plaster wall design

There were power lines running through the town, but they were mounted on the outside of the walls and looked as though they were installed after the town was abandoned.  We couldn't see any signs of electrical switches or outlets inside the buildings.  We didn't see any plastics or wallpaper or anything at all that looked modern.  Everything seemed very old.

The power lines don't feed into the buildings - they were mounted on the outside.  This building seemed to have a story; Why  are there bars on the window of this big building? Was it to keep people out or in?

Looking up at the church tower

Now at home in St. John's, I've been scouring the internet to find out a little more about this peculiar place.  Most of the information that I've found so far is in Spanish, but there's actually quite a lot written about the town.  There is an association with a website dedicated to preserving the community: ASOCIACIÓN PRO RECONSTRUCCIÓN DE ESCO and a blog dedicated to the town: Esco, un pueblo de Aragón. (Note: in the Google translated pages "Esco" is often translated as "Scotland".)  The blog even has a map of the town with each residence and building identified.

Centuries of history, decades of disuse

Narrow paths

It seems that Esco was one of three communities abandoned in the 1960s as the result of a large dam built on on the Aragon River, which created the Yesa Reservoir.  This is a dry province of Spain and control of the river seems to have played an important role in shaping the region for centuries.  The dam which led to the abandonment of Esco was in the works since the 1920s. The town itself wasn't flooded, but the fertile fields that the residents farmed now lie at the bottom of the reservoir.

The entrance to the town

Ancient Stone walls and timbers

The dam cut off the community's means of making a living.  If I'm reading the google-translated history correctly, the town has been on the books for 1000 years and the large church at its core may date to the 12th century.  In AD 1047, Esco gave tithes to the Monastery at Leire. Today, the only inhabitants are a father and his 3 sons, who raise sheep.   

Here's a short video clip that I took standing in front of the church and looking down on to the town:

Tumbled down town

Sunbleached roof timbers, collapsing under the weight of the tiles.

The floors and roofs were all supported by timbers and when those collapse the buildings become a hollow shell.

The main door and bell tower of the Church of San Miguel

Inside the Church

The ceiling of the church has fallen in below the bell tower.  It looks like at least one floor above  has yet to collapse.

The view down from the church.  Lori is walking in the foreground.

Esco, Spain

Photo Credits: 

1, 2, 4-9, 12-19: Tim Rast

3, 10, 11: Lori White