Continental Spain and Portugal

Situation: province of Lleida, 70 km. from Lleida city, Catalunya, Spain.

Population: in 1996 there were 7 inhabitants only, although a number of new settings have been built lately.

Monuments: Saint Peter's Church (Sant Pere), dated on the 18th century..

Fiesta Mayor: first weekend of August.

After the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), this village had been abandoned almost completely by its inhabitants, who emigrated to more developed zones within Catalunya. This was the cause of the increasing deterioration of its buildings as the years passed. If we add to this the fact that the few inhabitants left had to live in very poor condition, without water, electrical power, road and any basic service, it was not difficult to understand that Boada was condemned to disappearance.

However, in 1986, Francesc Borràs Xavier and Miquel París, one a native inhabitant of Boada and the other a newcomer, started to work to avoid what seemed to be unavoidable. The recovery of this little village is being possible thanks to the Association of neighbours and friends of Boada, a Catalonian non-profit organization created by those two pioneers and formed by over 50 members, most of them are not part of Boada's population but simpathise with its cause.

The finality of this association is to provide Boada with all those necessary services which are necessary for a decent living, such as all those mentioned before plus some more. They pretend Boada to be know to as many people as possible for them to get an opinion on what they are doing and what is left to do.

In the last few years, this association has organized several work camps to remove all the ruins from the village and to restore and refurbish the streets and buildings. Besides, thanks to them the road to Boada has been pavemented and the electrical power and telephone have arrived to the village. The Fiesta Mayor has been recovered, and the number of people who come grows year after year.

They are currently working to built a draining system and a constant supply of water for the whole year.

To contact the Associació de Veïns i Amics de Boada, please write to::

Francesc Borràs i Xavier
C/ de la Font, s/n
25736 Boada - Vilanova de Meià
Lleida (Spain)
Phone num.: 973-291066

Miquel Paris i Terre
Carrer Portalet, s/n
25736 Boada - Vilanova de Meià
Lleida (Spain)
Phone num.: 973-291065
E-mail: [email protected]