Almunecar Granada Andalusia |
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Almuñécar is a municipality in the province of Granada in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Andalusia (Andalucia) on the Costa del Sol between Nerja (Málaga) and Motril (Granada) and 75 kilometres east of Malaga International Airport. Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age man made his home in the hills surrounding Almuñécar, but it was not until about 3,000 years ago that the modern history of the town began. Phoenician seafarers, discovered in Almuñécar friendly local tribes, abundant water supplies, hills rich in copper and silver, along with superb fishing grounds. In those days Almuñécar was a small peninsula between the mouths of two rivers, the Río Verde and Río Seco, which created a natural harbour. There is evidence of Phoenician settlements in the hills above San Cristóbal and in the Cueva de Siete Palacios (Municipal Archaeological Museum) close to the castle. The Phoenician settlement was called Ex, or Sexi. The Romans fortified and developed what they called Sexi Firmum Julium. Southern Spain was overun by the Vandals who, driven over to Africa during the early fifth century by the Germanic Visigoths, left little but there name for the region - Vandalusia. After the Moorish invasion and under occupation of the Arabs, the town once more rose to a position of importance with a flourishing economy and population. Renamed Al-Munakkab, or Hins-al-Monacar (Fortified Town, or Flanked by Hills), it is clear to see the derivation of the modern name Almuñécar. In 755 ad, Abderramán I landed in Almuñécar after fleeing a rebel invasion of his native Damascus. One of the few survivors of the Umayyad dynasty, he was soon accepted by the various warring factions and proclaimed the first emir of an independent state in Córdoba, over which he ruled successfully for more than 30 years. A large bronze statue below the Peñón del Santo commemorates this event. During the latter years of the Christian Reconquest, the sultans of Granada paid close attention to Almuñécar. Strategically located as stepping stone to North Africa, it was the last town to fall to Catholic forces before the city of Granada. On December 30th, 1489, after 25 days of fighting, the castle surrendered. The final expulsion of Moors from Spain at the beginning of the seventeenth century, coupled with pestilence, war and continual attacks by coastal pirates, undermined and finally almost destroyed the local economies. In 1810, during the War of Independence, Almuñécar was briefly occupied by the French, causing British warships to shell the castle and put it out of action. And more than a century later, Almuñécar was again bombarded from the sea, this time during the Spanish Civil War. In April 1937, Republican forces tried to destroy the sugar factories that were located on Playa San Cristóbal, with very limited success. |
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