San Simón Island

Galicien · Spain · Prison

On foggy nights, whispers are said to rise from the pavilions — and the prisoners' souls never to have left the island in Vigo bay.

On foggy nights, visitors and boatmen tell of whispers in the old pavilions on San Simón, and of a sense that the prisoners' souls never left the island. It has earned a reputation as the most haunted place in Galicia, and the layers of suffering run deep: a Templar monastery, a plague lazaretto for Atlantic sailors, and between 1936 and 1943 one of Franco's concentration camps, where thousands of republican prisoners were held and many were shot.

In the water offshore, the treasure of the naval battle of Rande in 1702 is said to lie on the bottom, from the day the Spanish silver fleet was sunk in the bay. Today the island is a memorial to the camp's victims and is reached by boat from Cesantes.

FAQ

Where is San Simón Island located?

San Simón Island is in Galicien, Spain.

Image: Hugo P. / CC BY-SA 2.5 es — Wikimedia Commons