We were in Jánovas before, but it made such an intense impression that we wanted to go there again to see the progress of the restorations.
All current information can be found on this site.
A few streets have common facilities such as water, electricity and sewerage. They are also nicely sealed with a provisional hardening.
The communal oven has been used for a while and is being used regularly. The oven and the common outside table under the walnut tree are important for the social cohesion of the community.
Something that is and must remain common … is the church. It is refurbished as simply and cheaply as possible. Historians and monuments experts are unlikely to agree with the means and methods, but for future generations in Jánovas it is more important that this building is a means to promote social cohesion.
During our visit, there was regular news about the many hundreds of millions of euros that were made available after the fire in Notre Dame in Paris … that gave me even more respect for these repairs.
A few hands with some hand tools, technical insight, love and a lot of time can help people with social cohesion achieve a lot …
There is not too much time left for the Urbex photographers …
Here you can see that Jánovas is built at a place in the Pyrenees where the layers of the earth are literally pushed up vertically. (more info in this PDF)
I hope there will be even more progress when we revisit Jánovas again in the future.
We will return one day, if only for the nice place to spend the night with the camper…
Wim Harwig 