Alhaurin el Grande Malaga
Situated close to the northern face of 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.
Alhaurin el Grande is a prosperous village whose most interesting
monuments are Our Lady’s Church, the Town Hall and
Montellano Palace. Worthy of mention is Los Corchos Mill,
which is still in excellent condition and works exactly
as it did in Moslem times.
History
The Phoenicians exploited the AREA's silver and lead mines.
The presence of a Roman town 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's 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 Malaga.
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 village under the jurisdiction of
1st Coin, then the Crown itself, adding the Fleur de Lys
of the House of Borbon to its coat of arms. This coat of
arms also features the Golden Fleece awarded to the village
by Charles V for its loyalty during the Regional Wars.
Malaga province
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