The Village That Disappeared Beneath Poisoned Waters
Geamăna
Geamăna, once a quiet village nestled in Romania’s Apuseni Mountains, now exists only as a submerged memory, a place where beauty and destruction are inseparable.
In 1978, the Romanian government ordered its evacuation to make way for a toxic waste reservoir serving the Roșia Poieni copper mine. Over 400 families were displaced, and many promised compensation that never fully materialized.
What remains today is a lake of industrial sludge, growing by approximately one meter each year, swallowing homes, gardens, and even cemeteries.
video by calin_crainic12 on Instagram
The lake’s unnatural hues—vivid teal and rust-red—are the result of heavy metal contamination, a striking yet poisonous spectacle. While visually mesmerizing, the water is highly toxic, making the area uninhabitable.
Only a handful of residents still live on the outskirts, watching as their former village disappears beneath layers of chemical waste.
The most haunting remnant is the church steeple, protruding from the lake like a final marker of what once stood there. It does not merely symbolize loss. It serves as a warning, reminding us that progress often comes at a devastating cost.
Despite its tragic history, Geamăna has become a site of morbid fascination. Photographers and tourists visit to capture its eerie beauty, drawn to the surreal contrast between destruction and aesthetics. In winter, when the lake freezes, visitors can even walk up to the church tower, further emphasizing the unsettling transformation of the landscape.
It has, in some ways, become a spectacle—one that demands contemplation rather than simple admiration.
Can something born from destruction still hold a sacred allure?
Is admiration for such a place a form of complicity?
The lake does not provide answers, only reflections, murmuring of absence, and irreversible choices. Beneath the shimmering surface lies a village embalmed by industry, a silent monument to those who once called it home.
In its quiet devastation, Geamăna stands as both an elegy and a warning, urging us to reconsider the true cost of progress.
How sad, and infuriating! I think some people would buy a round trip ticket to hell and back if they thought they could get a “good picture”…..