Cementerio de Pinilla del Valle

Cementerio de Pinilla del Valle is a small, historically significant cemetery located northeast of Alameda del Valle, near the Arroyo de los Hoyos de Pinilla stream, in the heart of the Lozoya Valley in the Sierra Norte de Madrid. Its story is inseparable from that of the now-submerged village of Pinilla del Valle and the construction of the nearby Pinilla reservoir.

Where did this cemetery come from?

The original settlement of Pinilla del Valle was a small village of around 200 residents, first documented in the Catastro del Marqués de la Ensenada in 1750. At that time it already had a church with a tower, a flour mill, a forge, a tavern, a butcher shop, and a hospital for the poor. Until 1883 the village belonged administratively to the province of Segovia, before being incorporated into the Community of Madrid. According to Pascual Madoz's Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico (published 1846–1850), the town's public facilities at the time included a cemetery.

Why did the cemetery have to be relocated?

Between 1965 and 1967, the Embalse de Pinilla dam was built nearby: a concrete structure 30 meters high and 295 meters long, capable of storing 38 cubic hectometers of water. The project profoundly reshaped the surrounding villages. Although the maximum water level was capped at 1,089.90 meters to limit damage, roughly a dozen buildings were still flooded. The reservoir began filling in February 1967. As part of the preparations for flooding the valley, the cemeteries of both Pinilla and neighboring Lozoya had to be relocated, since they would otherwise have ended up underwater.

What remains to be seen today?

Traces of the original cemetery can still be spotted along the mountain-bike route that circles the Embalse de Pinilla reservoir — one of the few physical reminders of the vanished village that gave way to an artificial lake now supplying water to Madrid as part of the Canal de Isabel II network. The present-day cemetery, still in use by residents of the area, lies outside the flooded zone, within the administrative boundaries of Alameda del Valle.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

The Lozoya Valley and the area around the Pinilla reservoir are a popular destination for hikers and cyclists in the Sierra Norte de Madrid. Close by runs the well-known "Valley of the Neanderthals" route, leading to an archaeological site where the oldest human remains found in the Community of Madrid were discovered; visits to the site require a guide. This blend of 20th-century hydraulic engineering history with deep prehistory makes the surroundings of the Pinilla del Valle cemetery a distinctive stop on the regional map.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Pinilla del Valle cemetery the original one? Not entirely — the village's original cemetery was relocated in the 1960s when the dam was built and the valley was flooded.

Can you still see remains of the old cemetery? Yes, traces of it are visible from the mountain-bike route that circles the Embalse de Pinilla reservoir.

What else is worth visiting nearby? The Embalse de Pinilla reservoir and the nearby "Valley of the Neanderthals" archaeological site, which can be visited with a guide.