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Spain: Saving a dying village

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Norman Striegel
June 18, 2026

A German mayor is trying to save the Spanish village of La Cierva. But everything is in short supply — especially money.

In Spain’s depopulating countryside, a 70-year-old German, Christiana Scharfenberg, is working to save the village of La Cierva, now home to just 22 residents. As volunteer mayor, she manages daily infrastructure issues and seeks new inhabitants to prevent decline. While rural exodus continues, newcomers like a Honduran bar owner bring fresh life. Yet bureaucracy and limited funding hinder revival efforts across the region.

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