Embalse de Mansilla, Spanish lake

Embalse de Mansilla is a reservoir in La Rioja, formed by damming the Najerilla River and flooding the surrounding valley. The shoreline alternates between oak woodland, open meadows, and rocky slopes that frame the water on all sides.

The reservoir was completed in 1959, when the Najerilla was dammed and the original village of Mansilla was flooded. The families who lived there were relocated, and the settlement disappeared entirely under the rising water.

The reservoir takes its name from the village of Mansilla de la Sierra, which was submerged when the dam was built. A 16th-century bridge from the old village was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt as a monument in the new settlement, while the late-Gothic parish church disappeared under the water. The Romanesque Ermita de Santa Catalina, located above the old village, survived the flooding.

Late summer and autumn bring the lowest water levels, which is when a walk along the shoreline becomes most rewarding. The paths around the reservoir are flat and easy to follow without any special gear.

The late-Gothic parish church of the old village lies under the water, but the Romanesque Ermita de Santa Catalina, on the slope above the former settlement, stayed dry. One of the village's two 16th-century bridges was taken down stone by stone and rebuilt as a monument in the new Mansilla de la Sierra.