inspiration for spanish civil war scenery (many pics)

[Donpimpom]

Last week in a long trip by car I made a driving break at Corbera de l'Ebre and I decided to go on the old town and take some photos.

Corbera de l'Ebre was the setting of more than 115 war actions during the Battle of the Ebro, the 3.000 inhabitants village was almost completely destroyed and after the war the new village was rebuild next, keeping the remains of the old village untouched for years, actually is an historical heritage place.
In fact that village is not so special, sadly is not the only one village completely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, but I post some of the pics here just in case that provides you some inspiration for scenery.
I include the photo pf the old village's map, a helpful ressource if you are planning a batlle of the Ebro game.

[Christian]

Very evocative pictures. Gracias.

[Aaron]

Very haunting.

[former user]

left like this since then?
oh man, this is depressing...
looks like a good place to me to conduct peace negotiations

[Arlequín]

Belchite is the more famous 'ruined village monument' from the SCW. You'll find a vast number of ruined villages and farms etc all over Spain and often they are touted as from the Civil War. More often though, they are in fact left over from the 50s, 60s and 70s when there was a move to the cities and holiday resorts (plus significant death duties that left the beneficiary unable to afford to occupy the farm). Likewise you find SCW commentators mentioning the vast numbers of orange groves etc, when the main crop found nowadays is olives and citrus fruits tend to get left to rot on the trees outside of the larger plantations.

[Count Winsky]

Thank you for sharing.  It is very sad.

[commissarmoody]

interesting ghost town, is any one excavating the site?

[Donpimpom]

@Jim Hale yup, you are rigth, Belchite is the most famous one, with Gernika and Robert Cappa photos is very probably some of the most seen SCW images.
In the case of Corbera, like Belchite, the new village was rebuild next to the ruins by the winners, Why?
They said "to remember of the excess of the republic governement during the war" or in other words, to make people remember what happened to republicans.
In some cases the population was even displaced to new setlements. Franco had a real fixation with population moves, in 1939 he created the "Instituto Nacional de la Colonizacion" to relocate population after the war, most of these new villages where called "Villafranco de ...." (villafranco del delta, Villafranco del guadiana, etc) after Franco's death some villages decided to change their name but still can find plenty of villafrancos.

No idea what was growing there in the 30's. the crops in Corbera, actually, like many places at the south of catalonia are olive and almond, but these things changes according to markets, some areas in spain nowaday have no similarity with their crops on the 30's.

@commissarmoody as far as I know nobody is digging there, i would say all that should be digged is already done.
In fact the place is enclosed and some government dept. takes care of the place, there are information panels, warning forbiiding to enter the building for the risk of colapse, etc.
If you pay attention on the pics will see some of the walls and buildings are fixed to avoid they colapse for weather erosion, and I'm sure some garden keeping works should be frequently done to avoid everything turns into a grassfield.

When i was there I saw a tv team doing a interview to a couple of old men (around 80 yearsold) in front of a ruined building, they where explaining those ruins where their home, how was the old place, and how they left the village when the battle begins.

Maybe sounds silly, but one of the shocking things was to realize how in the middle of the buildings rubble still where tons of small housewares, glass bits, and other homestuff, evidences the people left their homes leaving all their stuff there.
If you pay attention without digging you find even war material, i found a bullet, unused, i take a photo before to throw it back to the rubble (it's part of the heritage), if you want to guess the ammunition type i can post the pict.

[traveller]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[commissarmoody]

Its good that the government is keeping the place as a protected site, its part of history and should be there to remind people of what happened.

[blockhaus]

Google Traductor
With an intense emotion I see these photos. It is the town where my mother was born And where I spent many summers in my infancia.Una of these houses is where my family lived before the war. I grew escucando stories of those days, a deep horror stories of families fleeing the countryside pursued by the aircraft, hunger and fear, from a standpoint of a women (the men in my family were in the front ) who had charge of young children (my mother, brother, etc.)
 As a child I collected many artifacts from the battle (sharpel, quantity ploras, cartridges that could directly found in the nearby woods and fields. One day walking around town with my mother she pointed something shiny in the ruins was a bottle of milk condensed had miraculously survived the ruins! She explained who gave such milk in the people I have in my house like a treasure.
 Well I can explain a lot of things  but may be this threat will be a bit long....
thanks for the photos  and thanks for the memory of the people that suffered the war

[blockhaus]

[Arlequín]

and thanks for your comments too blockhaus! 

[6milPhil]

Excellent thread.

[Jehan]

Thanks a lot for all these really inspiring pictures !