Merades is an ancient

abandoned village An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, f ...

located in the

Montsià Montsià () is the southernmost comarca (county) of Catalonia in Spain. Its capital and largest city is Amposta. History Almost all Montsià municipalities are part of the Taula del Sénia free association or mancomunitat (commonwealth). Munic ...

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History and description

The town is now uninhabited. Most of the houses in Merades are in an advanced state of ruin, especially towards its northern end, which is totally covered in bush and of difficult access. The ruins of the village are located on a low hill, at a height of 187 m over sea level, in the western slopes of the

Serra de Godall Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Ampar ...

mountain range. In the 19th century

Pascual Madoz Pascual Madoz Ibáñez (May 17, 1806 – December 13, 1870), Spanish politician, statistician, was born at Pamplona. Biography In early life Madoz was settled in Barcelona, as a writer and journalist. He envisioned the construction of the ...

referred to Merades as a "village that had been destroyed".Pascual Madoz Ibáñez, ''Diccionario geográfico, estadístico e histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar,'' Madrid, 1850 Administratively Merades belongs to the

Godall Godall is a municipality in the Montsià comarca, Tarragona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Godall gives its name to the Serra de Godall, a moderately high and smooth calcareous mountain range that rises above the town. Local legend says that the vill ...

municipality. It is very close to the TV-3313 road between Godall and

Ulldecona Ulldecona is a town in the South of Catalonia, in Montsià (Terres de l'Ebre), near the Senia River. Ulldecona is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. It has got town privileges since 1273. The nearest towns are: Alca ...

. The last inhabited building of the village was a

masia A masia in Catalan (or es, masía and an, pardina) is a type of rural construction common to the east of Spain: Catalonia, Valencian Community, Aragon, Languedoc and Provence (in the south of France). The estate in which the masia is located is ...

, a traditional Catalan farmhouse, known as Mas de Merades, located at the southwest end of the ancient village.

References

External links

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Dades dels Països CatalansInstitut Cartogràfic de Catalunya
{{coord, 40, 38, 22, N, 00, 26, 27, E, type:city, display=title Montsià Former populated places in Spain Ghost towns in Spain