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Benalmádena
Benalmádena, history of a village
Benalmádena is, by itself, one of those enclaves worth visiting, living and remembering. It is a privileged territory in which the tranquility of its atmosphere, the beauty of the landscape and the affability of its people go together with a wide range of leisure and recreational activities.
Geographically located in the very center of the Costa del Sol, only eleven kilometers from the airport, and with convenient road communications, Benalmádena, by the very configuration of its municipal area, can offer, at the same time, possibilities of lively entertainment, a place of quiet rest and an important cultural activity, which present it as an ideal place for visitors of any kind.
You will never forget us.
Prehistory
The first known occupants in the Benalmádena area date from the Solutrense period (Upper Paleolithic), about 20,000 years ago, when numerous human settlements appeared along the coast of Malaga. In Benalmádena, the most representative site of this period is the Cueva del Toro, located in the Calamorro mountain, which according to the studies carried out seems to have been a sanctuary. The occupation of this cave dates from about 15,000 years ago and the most representative thing about it is the existence of red paintings representing a headless bovid. Thanks to its southern orientation, with a convenient entrance and a panoramic view of the entire coastal area, it is a privileged site for a sanctuary from that period.
The social structure in the Upper Paleolithic seems to be linked to family groups that allowed easy mobility of the population, which lacked its own resources and used the caves as shelter.
The way of life in this period is linked to hunting and the gathering of wild fruits. There are no traces that demonstrate that any type of livestock or cultivation was practiced, something that occurred some 5,000 years ago, as a general climatic improvement allowed for the cultivation of crops, leading to a more stable settlement of the populations that continued to live in caves. We are already in the Neolithic.
From this period there are numerous remains in the Archaeological Museum of Benalmádena (stone tools, ceramics and personal ornaments), from local sites including the caves of La Zorrera and Los Botijos.
From Tartessos to Rome
In the second century B.C. (4000 years ago) there was a rooting and homogenization of cultures based on the settlement of small human groups (populations) in open enclaves and the development of an incipient agricultural and livestock activity. Some historians date the appearance of the first commercial exchanges at this time. These peoples have a notable influence of the dominant culture in southern Spain, the Tartessos.
Approximately in the year 800 B.C. the arrival of the Fenicians to the coasts of Benalmádena took place. They came from Tyre and tried to extend their commercial domains, attracted by the benignity of the area and the richness of its resources. It seems that the main interest of the Phoenicians was in mining (various metals, especially silver), which confirms the dating of some of the mining deposits in Benalmádena from this period.
It is in this period, with the arrival of the Fenicians, when the first settlements appeared with an incipient class structure, which reached its peak in the city of Malaga (Malaka) where a fortification was built. The basic resources are agriculture (vines and olives) and fishing.
In Benalmádena is located the site of La Era, a Fenician settlement of which we have abundant archaeological remains from various levels and periods of settlement, which can be admired in the Archaeological Museum of the town.
In the 2nd century B.C. the arrival of the Romans in the Benalmádena area materialized in a series of transformations in the economy, social structure and territorial organization. This area experienced a development of activities generated by the exploitation of marine resources, fishing and the production of products derived from it (mainly salted fish), as well as, to a lesser extent, shellfishing and salt extraction.
Some historians speak of the presence, at this time, of an important wharf that would be located in the area currently known as Torremuelle and whose origins would be in the time of Muslim occupation.
From the period of Roman occupation we have in Benalmádena the site of a 'Roman Villa' (it is popularly known as Benal-Roma) from which the remains that have reached our days are being recovered (baker's stamps, skylights, vessels, needles, etc.) and which are preserved in the Archaeological Museum located in Benalmádena-town. Remains of coins, anchors and amphorae have also been recovered in the Torremuelle area.
From the 4th century onwards, Christian colonies began to settle in the heart of the Roman cities in the area of Malaga, which, in principle, did not generate the same belligerence as in other parts of the empire. In any case, this was favored by the fact that this area, as it is today, was a meeting point of cultures and a commercial crossing point to the incipient North African market.
It gives way to a period of depopulation of the territory in favor of large cities (in our area Malaga was the main fortified core), where the population takes refuge as a measure of protection against the constant arrivals of enemy ships to the coast and where there seem to be greater resources for subsistence.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, in the 5th century, there was an atrocious invasion by barbarian peoples. The Roman province of Baetica (to which Benalmádena belonged) was occupied by the Vandals with indiscriminate plundering and social behavior far removed from the refinement of the preceding Roman culture.
Between the VI and VII centuries, under the dominions, first Visigothic and later Byzantine, a dark period of transition took place, marked by an evident depopulation of the area of Benalmádena, which would not be revived until the Muslim conquest.
Muslim Benalmádena
It is in the year 711 when the Muslims make their legacy to 'Spania' (name maintained since the Byzantine occupation) with an occupation in which pacts and negotiation prevail over arms. One of the few significant exceptions in the whole peninsula is the resistance carried out in Bobastro (Malaga) by Omar Ibn Hafsun until the beginning of the 10th century when he was finally subdued. At this time Benalmádena does not have important population centers and only certain settlements that do not reach a higher category than that of a village are evident.
Towards the 11th century a social structure began to develop in Benalmádena around its urban center, located in the present town, which consisted of a fortress and a walled village. Already in the 13th century the agrarian organization of the Muslim population is evident in the geometric division of the lands of the municipality, although unequal due to the innumerable existing ravines, where sugar cane (brought from the East by the Arabs themselves), figs, mulberry and grapes predominate. Precisely the cultivation of mulberry was destined to the silk industry, mentioned by some poets and geographers of the time.
Finally, it is also possible to attribute to these years of Muslim occupation the appearance of the toponym by which our municipality is known today: Benalmádena, which according to the most widespread opinion, comes from the Arabic voice 'Ibn-al-Madena' which means 'Sons of the Mines'.
Ibn al-Baytar
Diya al-Din Abu Mamad Abd Aliah ibn Ahmad al-Andalusi al-Malaqui (the Malaga-born) al-Nabati (the botanist) was also known as Ibn al-Baytar (the son of the veterinarian) and is possibly the most relevant historical figure born in Benalmádena. He is the most interesting botanist and pharmacologist of the Middle Ages.
He was born in Benalmádena in 1197, where he spent his childhood and adolescence and where he became interested in the plants of his environment and how to use them to cure certain ailments. With this restlessness he travels in order to have the best teachers of the time, which he easily achieves taking into account the great advances of Arab science, the most evolved culture of his time.
At the age of 24 he began to travel to various capitals of the Muslim empire, becoming Chief Botanist in Cairo and ending his journey in Damascus where he became Vizier with great honors and being one of the most influential people in the whole territory. His studies of botany, zoology, mineralogy and the nature of man made him publish a large number of works considered as guides for the scholars who followed him.
- Three of his publications stand out above all others:
- 'Mogni fi addwiya el Mofridat' (basic treatise on simple remedies) where he makes a kind of practical guide for physicians.
- 'Kitab al-Jami li-mufradat al-adwiyah wa-al-aghdhiyah' (essential treatise on medicines and food) in which he lists more than 1400 examples of natural medicines, herbs, remedies and food products of his own observation as well as consultation of more than 150 sources.
- 'Chami al Mofridat addwiya wa alagdiya' (collection of simple medicines) where he makes a systematic account, in alphabetical order, of his studies and research on medicines and foods contained in the three natural kingdoms.
Ibn al-Baytar reached the category of sage and, as one of his disciples wrote, Benalmádena was not only his birthplace but also the origin of his wisdom.
From the 15th to the 18th century
The reconquest of Benalmádena by the Christian armies, under the command of King Henry IV, took place in 1456 with the consequent destruction of everything in its path. In fact, many residents of Benalmádena took refuge in Mijas to later try to rebuild part of what was once their town, which was destroyed again in 1485, this time by the troops of Ferdinand the Catholic.
From that moment on, dark times came in the history of Benalmádena, in a land that nobody wanted to inhabit because it was unsafe. Thus, in 1491 the king commissioned Alonso Palmero to repopulate Benalmádena with 30 Christian families, which he did not achieve due to various vicissitudes, including an earthquake that caused the newcomers to flee.
The first official census of population of Benalmádena dates from 1496 and indicates that the neighbors that integrate it are 10 gentlemen, including in them the warden Alonso Palmero, and 21 peons head of family.
The population problems of Benalmádena have their origin in the insecurity of the coast, habitually assaulted by enemies (especially by Berbers recently expelled from this territory) and pirates who arrive in search of already non-existent riches.
In the middle of the XVI century Benalmádena has 10 families and about 50 inhabitants and it is when an incipient settlement of the population begins thanks to the spacing of the attacks and that these have other objectives. It begins a commercial activity that is carried out fundamentally with Mijas since Malaga, the main urban center of the coast, is much more distant and presents the serious inconvenience of having to cross the Guadalhorce river, which was necessary to ford.
From this period dates one of the longest settled families in Benalmádena, the Zurita Zambrana, owners of large plots of land in the area of Arroyo de la Miel, where they concentrated a large patrimony.
The name of the town, by adapting the Arabic word, became 'Benalmaina', which is how it was recognized during this period.
Possibly one of the worst moments in the history of our town occurred on October 9, 1680 when an earthquake left not a single house standing and knocked down some hills and was worsened by a subsequent tidal wave that disabled the boats and ruined the coast.
In 1784 the Genoese Felix Solecio buys the farmhouse of Arroyo de la Miel with the intention of building 6 paper mills (white and brown paper) to supply the card factories of Macharaviaya. Although the factories abandoned their production in 1806, their infrastructure and houses are the origin of the current town of Arroyo de la Miel. From this moment on, the settlement of the entire municipality began, favored by the increasingly busy commercial traffic between Malaga and the entire coast.
The 19th and 20th centuries
At the beginning of the 19th century, once the mentality of the area had changed thanks to the start-up of the paper mills (regardless of their destination), a new crop came to increase not only productivity but also the general economy of the region. This is the cultivation of muscatel raisins and grapes for wine production. In the middle of the century, Benalmádena became a destination for investors seeking land for the cultivation of vines, which became a monoculture in this area.
All this provokes an increase in population of 56%, reaching 1,692 inhabitants at that time and up to 2,239 neighbors in 1887. Also noteworthy is the opening of the first inn in the area (on Calle de los Pozos).
From 1890 onwards, and after the phylloxera plague, which wiped out all the vine crops in the region, a series of events took place that, once again, dented the population. These were epidemics of malaria, cholera and typhus which, as in the rest of the province of Malaga, seriously affected the population.
The departure of neighbors, who emigrate with this prospect, as well as the deceased population, cause a population crisis that does not go back until the mid-twentieth century, specifically in the decade of the 50s.
From that date on, Benalmádena was reborn based on a resource that had never been exploited before: tourism.
Late 20th century
In the decade of the 50's, of the XX century, the possibilities that the Costa del Sol has for tourism begin to be valued and it is the moment in which some investors make their acquisitions of land on the coast with the aim of building the first hotels. At that time there was no delimitation, because it was unknown, of this area and it was simply called 'the road from Malaga to Cadiz' and even any place, especially those on the coast, were erroneously attributed to Torremolinos, still under the administrative tutelage of Malaga.
The pioneer hotel in this area was the 'Costa del Sol', which in a few years was joined by the hotels La Roca, Siroco, Triton, Riviera, Alay, so that in a few meters were concentrated hotels of category that began to use Benalmadena as a distinctive location.
At the same time, the municipality realized the possibilities offered by this new industry, tourism, and decided to make a special effort to improve the urban centers and leisure infrastructures in the area.
There are several particularly significant moments in the recent history of Benalmádena that have contributed to making it a privileged enclave.
On the one hand, the designation of Villa of Tourist Interest in the early 70's, which almost coincides with various awards for the beautification of the town of Benalmádena, which places it in a prominent place for tourists, especially those coming from abroad.
Then, in 1973, the inauguration of the Tivoli amusement park, the first and only one on the coast for almost thirty years and which covered an offer until then unpublished.
Finally, another important moment for the municipality as a whole is the inauguration of its marina, the largest on the coast and which has already received on several occasions the award for the 'best marina in the world', awarded by specialized media companies. A port with more than 1000 berths, with an architecture of great beauty and a leisure and recreational environment that attracts millions of visitors every year.
