Dam Construction, Company Towns and Planned Urban Development: The Example of Salto del Esla, Spain

Company towns are integral to the urban and territorial changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution, especially in remote, resource-rich areas. Among these, villages constructed alongside dams stand out due to their profound territorial impact. This study focuses on one such unique settlement near the Ricobayo dam in Zamora, Spain, exploring its construction and environmental integration. At its inception, Ricobayo was Europe’s largest dam, its creation marked by notable feats like relocating a church, and pioneering hydraulic engineering and bridge construction, including a record-breaking design by Torroja. The adjacent company town set a precedent for creating liveable spaces for workers in isolated locales, influencing later developments. Research included on-site investigations, archival work at Iberdrola’s Historical Archive, and review of historical texts, underscoring the cultural and landscape significance of 20th-century dam settlements and the distinctive features of Ricobayo’s surroundings.

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The research has been carried out within the framework of Project PID2019-105877RA-I00 ‘Analysis and Definition of Strategies for the Characterisation, Recovery, and Enhancement of the Heritage of Public Works. An Approach from the Territorial Scale’. We also thank Yolanda Diego Martín, the director of Iberdrola’s historical archive, for her assistance in consulting the various historical documents and photographs cited here.