Haunting ruins of a once beautiful town in Spain have now become a haven for dark tourists seeking to walk the streets and feel the echoes of the horror that once played out here.
Belchite, in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, was founded by King Alfonso the Battler as a community of noble knights dedicated to fighting a ‘holy war’ between Christians and Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula.
In 1809, the town would know war once again when Emperor Napoleon’s invading French forces battled with the Spanish during the Peninsular War.
And in 1937, conflict would finally prove the undoing of the settlement as fierce fighting during the Spanish Civil War reduced the once pretty streets and church to rubble.
Today, the hollowed-out remains of the town and wind-swept streets have been left as a reminder of the horrors of war for future generations.
As these photographs show, Belchite is now a ghost town, the thousands of people who once lived there having long since gone and their stories disappeared.
After the Spanish Civil War, General Franco declared the area should be left as a reminder of war for future generations after a bloody battle saw nearly 5,000 people killed.
Unexploded bombs and ammunition still litter the site, which has become a Mecca for so-called ‘Dark Tourists’ who love to explore the world’s hidden and dangerous destinations.
According to the website dark-tourism.com, individual access to Belchite is now restricted but there are still guided tours through the ruins.
It said: “You can walk right into the hollowed out shell of the church building. In some more protected corners you can still see some intricate stone masonry and wall paintings.”
Speaking about the Iglesia de San Martin de Tours church, the website added: “But this church’s spire is perhaps the most enigmatic of the whole ghost town. Though still standing (helped a bit by some recently applied concrete stabilizing it from the inside), it is heavily scarred by shelling and the cone at the top has a dramatically gaping hole in it.”
The ruins have attracted more than just tourists, there have also been a number of movies shot on location, including spooky Spanish civil war film, Pan’s Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
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