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Alhaurin El Grande Holidays
Travel information about Alh. El Grande in Malaga. |
Travel information about Alh. El Grande in Malaga.
Tourist information about Alhaurin El Grande in Spain. Travel to Alhaurin El Grande and let Spain-Holiday.com guide and accommodate you |
Alhaurín el Grande is situated at the foot of the northern slopes of the Mijas mountains, offering wonderful views over the Guadalhorce Valley, rich in fruit and vegetable patches, and olive and cereal groves.
The municipality has other urban areas apart from Alhaurín itself, the result of its agricultural development, such as Villa franco del Guadalhorce, el Cigarral and la Fuente del Perro. The principal river is the Fahala, into which the Jurique and the Torres streams flow. There is also the Pasadas river, which flows from the Barranco Blanco area through beautiful waterfalls and lakes. The original name has led to much discussion in the past, but we do know that Pliny referred to the place as both "Andorisae" and "Andorisippo".
On the other hand, Rodríguez Berlanga suggests "Iluro", Guillén Robles claims it was Lauro, but there is little documentation to support these theories. Archaeological remains from various periods point to human presence of the area from Neolithic, Iberian, Greek, Roman and Visigoth times. The Moors called it "Alhaurín", and after the re-conquest the "El Grande" was added to distinguish it from its neighbouring Alhaurín de la Torre, meaning "The Garden of Allah", "The Hole" or "The Valley", although recent investigations would suggest also "The Free".
Alhaurin el Grande was re-conquered by the Christian forces in May of 1485, when it was incorporated into the Castillian crown. Its Council was established in 1492, and in 1505 the parish church was built. Shortly afterwards the Royal Hospital of Santa Catalina was built, and in 1634, the people of the town purchased jurisdiction and the title "villa" from the crown, which included the Bourbon fleur-de-lis on the coat-of-arms. The history of the town in the 18th century is recorded in the land registry of the Marqués de la Ensenada, whose documents dating from 1751 are conserved in the Municipal Library. During the 19th century this was the place where the richer families of Malaga city had their leisure homes.
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See a map over Alhaurin El Grande
