Andalusian Smurf Village

In Andalusia, there is a Smurf village – a mountain village where the houses are painted blue. Júzcar el pueblo pitufo (Júzcar – Smurf village) is the official name.

Júzcar was home to Spain’s first tinplate factory. The location was chosen because this Serranía de Ronda area had plenty of wood, which was essential for the charcoal needed in the foundry. The factory began production in mid-1731. Since the process used to manufacture the product was unknown in Spain, about thirty technicians from Germany came under the leadership of two Swiss engineers, Pedro Menrón and Emerico Dupasquier. According to chronicles, the technicians secretly left Germany packed in barrels, as they were forbidden to go abroad to prevent competition. The factory went bankrupt due to strong competition from industries in Asturias and the Basque Country.

But how did the white village turn into a blue Smurf village?

The worldwide premiere of the Smurfs movie took place on June 16, 2011, in Júzcar. To celebrate the premiere, the entire village, including churches and other historical buildings, was painted Smurf blue. Twelve local painters used 4000 liters of blue paint to transform the traditionally white Júzcar into the world’s first Smurf village. Although Sony promised to restore the village to its original appearance, six months after the premiere, the residents voted to keep the blue color. This decision was significantly influenced by the fact that in six months, 95,000 tourists visited the blue village. Previously, about 9,000 tourists visited annually.

What to do in the Smurf village?

Take a walk 😊 On weekdays, it seems to be an extremely peaceful and sleepy village. We walked through all the main streets and it felt like as if time had stopped there. Some buildings haven’t been repainted blue since 2011. There are a few cafes on the main street that we didn’t visit this time, but they are certainly waiting for customers.