The 90’s was an incredible decade for Europe. First came the fall of the Berlin Wall followed closely by the end of the Soviet Union and the boundaries of the Iron Curtain.

The people of Europe could move through their continent more freely than ever before. However, border crossings were still necessary.

This changed in 1995 when the Schengen agreement came in to force. This took effect liberating travel between 7 European countries.

Since then of course the EU has expanded. Today 26 countries, members of the Schengen Area, have abolished border controls and share a common visa policy.

As border checkpoints between these countries are no longer needed, many of them have been abandoned.

Spanish photographer Ignacio Evangelista travelled around Europe to take photos of those abandoned border checkpoints for his award-winning project “After Schengen”.

(Image Credits: Ignacio Evangelista)