With Halloween upon us, we feel like marathoning horror movies, (re)discovering ghost stories and/or immersing ourselves in spine-chilling parties. At the same time, abandoned places are particularly fascinating at this time of year.
That’swhy we wanted to take advantage of Halloween to recall the history of the “Abandonados.pt” project, Blog of the Year in 2018, which has always been of great interest to us. With a focus on sharing places you didn ‘t even know existed, this is one of the most interesting projects we’ve ever worked on. After all, who hasn’t wondered why certain places are no longer frequented and, from one day to the next, are completely left out?
Many for economic reasons, others for lack of interest or because life has dictated it, in this project we’ve found a bit of everything. And the mentor of “Abandonados.pt”, André Ramalho, tells us all about it by collecting various photographs and videos of these places. Do you want to get to know them? Then let’s go!
Table Of Contents
What is Urbex (Urban Exploring)?
Urbex (Urban Exploring) is the act of visiting abandoned places and recording them in documentary photography.
It consists of keeping the place you’re visiting as intact as possible, but it doesn’t prevent us from sometimes having to trespass on other people’s property.
This is also a very dangerous practice, as you could be unlucky enough to step on structures that could collapse at any moment.
In the same way, no matter where you are in the abandoned area, there are also the dangers of stepping on old, rusty nails, glass or even chemicals. And of course, never forget the dangerous animals, such as rats, snakes or dogs, that can still inhabit these places left by humans many years ago.
Anadia Basic School 2,3
Schools are some of the places most visited by Urbex(s). Because they carry all the nostalgia of those who went to elementary school in the 80s and 90s, this type of enclosed space proves to be one of the most interesting to explore.
In Anadia, André discovered two schools in this advanced state of deterioration since 2015.
They are currently very dilapidated, vandalized and are being used by homeless people to spend the night and young people who take advantage of the grounds to occasionally skateboard. The buildings and land belong to the state. Anadia council has been trying to negotiate with the Ministry of Finance to buy the two properties, but has been waiting for years to reach an agreement on the purchase price.”
Ribeira Grande Palace
André rarely goes on expeditions to Lisbon, but on one of his photographic adventures he decided to investigate the Ribeira Grande Palace, built by the Marquis of Nisa, D. Francisco Luís Baltasar da Gama, at the beginning of the 18th century.
For a few decades, when the palace was inhabited, several schools operated here. In the last decades of the 20th century and the first years of this century, the Ribeira Grande Palace housed the Rainha D. Amélia High School.
According to the adventurer, the Ribeira Grande Palace
It’s an interesting building and it’s one of those abandoned ones that aren’t easy to get into, because being in a big city, they’ve taken measures to prevent people from getting in by walling up the doors and windows, but with a bit of gymnastics it was possible to get in.”
Villa Rosa
The name Vila Rosa originated when Joaquim da Cruz (owner of the house) paid homage to his sister Rosa, who died young.
Vila Rosa, which dates from the middle of the second decade of the 20th century (1915/16), is a very beautiful building that must have been stunning in the past. It’s in Pampilhosa and according to information gathered by André, it belonged to Mr. Cruz, a wealthy man linked to the manufacturing industry, who had a very beautiful wife.
He was reportedly very jealous and rarely let his wife go outside. That’s why he built this house with that glass pane, so that his wife could watch the people go by.
Some even say that when his wife wanted to go to a play, her husband would pay for all the seats in the room so that the two of them could go.
Zé’s Tavern
In January 2019, André visited a small traditional tavern, tiny but full of stories. At the back, he also found a small house where the owners of the tavern lived, with a bathroom, three bedrooms, a small living room and a cellar.
The coffee machine, the tables, the cash register and all the characteristic objects of a tavern were left in the tavern. According to André,
it was possible to feel the spirit of the place and imagine what it would have been like when it was open and running.”
The tavern was first opened by Mr. José and then passed on to his eldest son, António, who married and had two daughters who were raised in the house.
One of the daughters went to Lisbon to study philosophy and the other, according to the letters, emigrated to Switzerland. The mother died a few years later and according to the calendars and the dates on the last letters, the house and tavern have been abandoned since 1993, probably after the death of Mr. António, who lived alone in the house for many years after the death of his wife.
Green Hill
Like André, the person writing these lines also knows this nightspot in the center of the country, more precisely in Foz do Arelho.
Green Hill was a true icon of the 80s and 90s and marked three generations every weekend for 30 years. It closed in 2013.