La Herradura |
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La Herradura is the second-largest urban area of Almuñecar, on the Costa Tropical coast of Granada province in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia. Archeological evidence shows that since the Bronze Age there has been continued human activity in the area. Both Phoenician traders and Roman colonists founded small agricultural estates or built country villas around the bay and, much as today, The area depended to a large part on being close to the market town and trading centre of Almuñécar. Historical records cannot fix a date for the founding of the first important settlement in the area, although it appears that the village of Jate, or Xate, already existed when the Arabs arrived and was located on the banks of the Rio Jate, about 2km from where the village of La Herradura stands today. It is thought to have been established by Christians during the Visigothic era, around the 7th century a.d. This was an established junction between the Via Hercúlea coastal route established by the Romans and an inland route that gave access to the interior along the Río Jate valley. Known by the Arabs as La Alquería (farmstead) de Jate, the village thrived for more than 700 years until after the Reconquest when, during the Arab Rebellions of the Alpujarras in the 16th century, local Christians from Almuñécar sacked the area in fear of the small Arab community which still lived there, killing many, destroying their properties and burning their boats. The order to expel all Moors from Spain made by Philip III in 1609 then finally sealed the fate of Xate which, according to one chronicler, had fallen into ruins by the mid-17th century. In October 1562 La Herradura witnessed the natural devastation of almost an entire squadron of the Spanish Navy. 25 ships, heading eastwards from Málaga, were caught in a strong storm. Forced to row against the powerful easterly squalls, they finally made shelter in the lee of the Punta de la Mona. When suddenly the wind unexpectedly changed to the south, the galleons were driven on to each other and the rocks. Of the 25 vessels, only three survived. The bay of Jate became known to the Christians as the bay of La Herradura, due to its distinctive shape (herradura means horseshoe), and the new urban community that replaced the original village was established further to the east, taking on the same name. Much the same as Almuñécar, the departure of the Moors and their trade meant a gradual decline in fortune over the years until the latter part of last century when the advent of tourism brought another type of foreign wealth. The village of La Herradura lies to the eastern end of the bay where the main N340 road comes closest to the sea. A dry riverbed called the Rambla de Espinar cuts through the lower part of the village near its entrance, joined on its way to the beach by the Calle Real, once the Camino Real (Royal Way) which came from Almuñécar over the Punta de la Mona. The Calle Real then changes name into the Acera del Pilar before reaching the beachfront and the Paseo Marítimo de Andrés Segovia, a promenade which stretches the full length of the bay.
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