The medieval fortress village of Granadilla stays frozen in time after locals had been compelled to evacuate it by mistake many years in the past.

Located within the province of Cáceres, a part of the autonomous area of Extremadura, Granadilla has been a ghost city for the reason that late Nineteen Sixties, after the final residents moved out forsaking their properties and lots of materials possessions.

One of the previous residents who has been fiercely campaigning for years to convey again residents to Granadilla claimed the city skilled a "Greek tragedy" which affected even the useless.

Eugenio Jimenéz, president of the Sons of Granadilla affiliation, instructed the BBC: "I'll always believe that what we went through in Granadilla was a Greek tragedy, because the living were pushed out and the dead were denied the right to sleep in their village forever.

"When the earlier cemetery was inundated, the deceased needed to be swiftly relocated to a brand new, extra modest cemetery."

In the 1950s, while Spain was still ruled by Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, Spain embarked on a major dam-building project to boost its economy in the face of international isolation.

Granadilla, officials said in 1952, was in the floodplain that would be affected by the construction of the massive Gabriel y Galán reservoir located on the Alagón River.

Between 1959 and 1969, the 1,000 residents were forcibly evicted - with many only receiving compensation in 1973.

While the water level around Granadilla did indeed rise and for two years it became an island after its bridges were flooded, the elevated town was never submerged.

Despite the medieval town not being affected by the water level as much as its surrounding, the regime didn't allow residents to return to their homes.

Even more shockingly, the democratic government that followed didn't revoke the evacuation decree, which remains enforced to this day and continues to bar the former residents from returning to Granadilla and reclaiming their houses.

As a result, tourists and locals alike can only carry out day trips to the medieval town, and nobody can sleep there.

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Voicing his frustration, Mr Jimenéz said: "It was a travesty. They kicked us out, claiming the dam would flood the city, which was not possible as a result of the city is increased than the dam.

"But those were times of dictatorship and we had no rights. But what truly frustrates me is that during democratic times, I have been struggling for the recovery of Granadilla with the former children's association and no government has listened to us."

Depicting how he misses the city he was born in, Mr Jiménez added he desires to be laid to relaxation in Granadilla.

He mentioned: "The only way I'll be able to return to my village would be when I pass away. In the place where I grew up, I'll sleep forever."

Founded within the ninth century, Granadilla can immediately be accessed by way of a pot-holed highway from Zarza de Granadilla or Abadía, which result in the city's completely preserved citadel and historical partitions.

But lots of the homes had been ransacked within the years after the evacuation was full, with looters even stealing the principle altarpiece from the church in Granadilla.

In 1980, it was designated a Historic-Artistic Site in 1980 and now runs as a free, open-air museum.

Former residents and their descendants meet up twice a 12 months within the city, on All Saints' Day, November 1, and on the day marked as Assumption of Mary, August 15.