Old church and foundry found in dried-up Spanish reservoir

An entire city district has been discovered at the bottom of a dried-up Spanish reservoir in Catalonia. Among the relatively preserved buildings are, for example, a small church and the Royal Foundry, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, the BBC reports .

Local historian Maria Baig says that the building frames and several stone foundations of former buildings found at the bottom were once part of the San Sebastia district, which belonged to the city of Sant Llorenç de la Muga and was built in 1771.

The area was once home to the Royal Foundry. According to Baig, it was the first foundry of its kind in Catalonia and operated until 1794 – during the Peninsular War, it was destroyed by the French and was never rebuilt. The church was built in 1609. Locals knew about the existence of the foundry and the church at the bottom of the reservoir, but did not understand what they looked like, so they were surprised when part of the city finally “surfaced”.

"Many people immediately went towards the [foundry]. Even though they knew about it, they didn't understand exactly what it was and wanted to see it in person. Even I [am the same] - I have all these maps and knowledge [about this place], but it was hard to imagine what it looked like without visiting it in person. I was surprised when I saw [the ruins] - they were bigger than I expected," Maria said.

San Sebastia went underwater in 1969 after the Darius Boadella Dam collapsed, flooding the entire area. The resulting reservoir provided water to several towns, making it possible to irrigate local crops. It also provided the region with electricity.

In 2008, the first ruins of the area began to emerge due to drought, but at that time they were inaccessible on foot. Later, in 2021, Catalonia declared a state of emergency due to a severe drought: the water level in the reservoir dropped to its lowest point in history, and the ruins became increasingly accessible.

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