A Little History of Fayon
This is the only map I can find which shows where Fayon is situated in the hills of the AUTS mountains. The mauve bits on this map is where some of the bloodiest battles in the Spanish Civil War were fought. Those of you who follow my Petanca blogs will recognise various names such as Ribarroja, Asco and Mora de Ebro.
These fairly high dry mountains were to witness one of the most bloody and horrific confrontations during the Civil War (1936–39). On 25 July 1938 the 42 division of the Spanish Republican Army successfully crossed the river in this area and occupied the Auts area taking positions in the hills. This feat was claimed as a great victory for the Republican troops, and the Spanish Republic saw it as a positive outcome of the Battle of the Ebro effort. However death was on its way in the shape of Franco’s rebel faction.
Now the 226th and 227th mixed brigades who had taken up position in the AUTS hills found themselves surrounded by the rebel faction who then set about relentlessly massacring them – no quarter given was an understatement. Although they fought bravely they were no match for Fanco’s troups. There were a few and I do mean few survivors, and after having suffered a great number of casualties these few battered survivors had to fight their way to the Ebro and get back across the river.
This is the monument to those many soldiers who died in the Auts hills at the feet of the range near the road leading to Mequinensa. No wonder this little new town has a feeling of unearthly quiet about it, but the people are most welcoming. Every year on the 25/26th of July (or nearest weekend) they commemorate the battle, and celebrate so those who gave their lives are remembered and the sacrifices they made are not forgotten.
FAYON
The Fayon of today is a new town. The ancestral village was submerged by the waters of the Ribarroja reservoir built in 1967 and the present-day village was built by the state-owned company that built the dam. After the closure of the nearby coal mine, Fayón has lost about 50% of its population. This quiet little town is peaceful and idyllic somewhere to spend a vacation fishing, walking or just soaking up its history, and leave the stresses of the world behind. here are some images of Fayon:
Petanca
So here we are today, back with our friends enjoying Petanca. So whilst Michael and the others play I have come here to the café with its wifi and tranquility to write.
They say that you should never work with children or animals they should also add cameras. When I went to take the pictures BOTH the cameras played up so these are the only ones I have of the winners.
The first picture is of the club President and the Alcalde then comes the main prize winners and everyone else. It was a really hot day and people were glad to get going to some shade.
(c) Michael Douglas Bosc – Author