VALLE DEL GUADALHORCE - ALHAURIN EL
GRANDE MALAGA
Located at the foot of the Northern face of La Sierra de Mijas,
looking out over the spectacular Guadalhorce Valley, its territory
is made up of citrus and other fruit trees and vegetable gardens.
Neolithic, Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Arabic settlers have
all left their mark on the area. Today, Alhaurin el Grande is
a prosperous village whose most interesting monuments are Our
Lady’s Church, the Town Hall and Montellano Palace. Also
worthy of mention is The Corchos Mill, which is still in excellent
condition and works exactly as it did in Moslem era.
History
The Phoenicians exploited the AREA's silver and lead mines.
The presence of a Roman city of some importance is evidenced
by the abundant remains from the period to be found here, such
as the aqueduct on the road to Coin, capitals, columns, headstones,
sculptures, coins featuring Dioclecianus and Probus, and Cerrogordo
ruins. Its Roman name appears to have been Lauro Nova, and it
is generally thought that this was the ancient Lauro were, according
to Floro, Gnaeus Pompeius, son of Pompeius, was killed by supporters
of Julius Caesar, though no proof exists of this. The Arabs
gave it the name Alhaur, meaning "the valley people",
due to its location between the Faala and Arroyo de la Villa
valleys, and built a fortress which dominated the AREA. This
castle was blown up by the French in 1812; the parish church
was later built on its foundations.
Remains of other Moslem fortresses also exist in the municipal
AREA, such as those of Jurique, Faala, Mentage and Rabaquel.
In 1487, the village was conquered by King Ferdinand, following
bloody assaults on Coin, the fire and massacre of Benamaguez
(Casapalma) and the capture of Cartama, its habitants fleeing
to Marbella; its land and castles were shared out among the
Christian settlers, though a further redistribution was undertaken
in 1492.
Alhaurin el Grande, which belonged to the Crown, was dependent
on the jurisdiction of the city of Málaga.
In 1634, its inhabitants bought this jurisdiction along with
independent village status for the sum of 4,459,916 silver maravedíes.
King Ferdinand VI revoked this autonomy and placed the town
under the jurisdiction of first Coin, then the Crown itself,
adding the Fleur de Lys of the House of Borbon to its coat of
arms. This coat of arms features the Golden Fleece awarded to
the village by Charles V for its loyalty during the Regional
Wars.
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