La Barranca sanatorium

La Barranca Sanatorium once stood in the mountains above Navacerrada, roughly 50 km northwest of Madrid, and for most of the twentieth century served as a hospital for tuberculosis patients. Although the building no longer exists, its history offers a striking window into how Spain fought respiratory disease long before antibiotics were available.

What was this building originally built for?

Construction finished in 1941, commissioned by Spain's National Anti-Tuberculosis Board (Patronato Nacional Antituberculoso). Tuberculosis was one of the country's leading causes of death at the time, and reliable drug treatments were still decades away — penicillin and streptomycin only became widely available later. Doctors instead relied on what was known as climate therapy: isolating patients in clean mountain air and sunlight, away from towns, in the hope that this would help the body fight the infection. The Sierra de Guadarrama, dry and set above 1,200 meters, was considered an ideal spot for this kind of institution, and its remote location also kept the healthy population away from contagion.

What did the complex look like?

The sanatorium occupied a plot of roughly 3,000 square meters and consisted of two main wings joined by a central section, along with additional annexes and basement levels — eight floors in total, five of them main stories, rising to about 36 meters. Large windows ran along the facades, designed to flood the wards with natural light and fresh air, in line with the medical thinking of the era.

How did its role change over time?

Once antibiotics made tuberculosis treatable, the country's network of dedicated sanatoriums lost its original purpose almost overnight. The Navacerrada building was converted into a psychiatric hospital, but this second life was short — it functioned in that capacity for only about five years, roughly between 1990 and 1995, before closing due to budget shortfalls and a series of incidents that damaged its reputation.

Why does the site have such a dark reputation?

After closing, the building sat empty for close to twenty years, slowly falling apart — interior partitions collapsed or were stripped away, leaving mostly bare structural pillars standing. That decay, combined with the building's brief history as a psychiatric facility, fed a reputation for being haunted: locals and urban explorers alike reported strange noises and voices inside, and the ruins became a popular, if illegal, destination for abandoned-place explorers.

Can visitors still see it today?

No — the structure is gone. Because of its unsafe condition and its location inside the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, authorities ordered its demolition, a project costing around 3.5 million euros. Crews used mechanical methods rather than explosives, and the work — aimed at restoring the site to its natural state — took about nine months, starting around the turn of 2023 into 2024. Anyone visiting Navacerrada today will find mountain scenery and hiking trails through the national park, but not the sanatorium building itself — worth knowing before planning a trip built around its history.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was La Barranca Sanatorium located? In the mountains above Navacerrada, within the Sierra de Guadarrama, about 50 km from Madrid, at an elevation above 1,200 meters.

When was it built? In 1941, as a tuberculosis hospital run by Spain's national anti-tuberculosis authority.

Is the building still standing? No. Due to its poor condition and location inside a national park, it was demolished between 2023 and 2024.

Why was it considered haunted? Decades of abandonment following a brief and troubled run as a psychiatric hospital (1990–1995) gave rise to local ghost stories and reports of strange sounds among the ruins.