Alhaurin el Grande Info

Alhaurin el Grande is a town located some 30 Kms from the capital city of Malaga on the Costa del Sol in Spain. Alhaurin el Grande is situated 239 meters above sea level and is one of the most picturesque villages in the Guadalhorce river valley, situated between the river Fahala and the stream of Blas González.

Alhaurin el Grande is nestled within rolling hills and wide open spaces that give a real feel of space, from all parts of the town. The area to the north consists of plains, where agriculture is the main type of farming. To the south and southeast are the mountains.

From Alhaurín there is a lovely view over the Hoya de Málaga, of vast plains of citrus trees and other fruit trees, which together looks like a vast carpet of greens and browns.

Near to Alhaurin el Grande are the towns of Coin and Alhaurin de la Torre, that make for interesting day trips, and which can provide many other services that cannot be found in Alhaurin el Grande.

The Mediterranean coast is quite close, with Fuengirola and Mijas situated along a winding road that huggs the mountain. Alternativly, Marbella can be reached by taking the A-366 from Alhaurin el Grande, then the A-355 and travelling south west.

The weather in Alhaurin el Grande consists of a mild climate with light winds that blow predominately from the north and west.

Archaeological remains of a Roman settlement have been found near Alhaurin el Grande, that existed during the times of emperors Probo and Diocleciano. It is assumed that this settlement was very important, indeed archaeologist concede that this was the ancient Iberian settlement of the town of ILURO, the place where the Roman Emperor Caesar defeated Cneo Pompeyo the Younger (75 AD - 45 AD), the son of Pompeyo the Great.

The Moors were the first to name this town, Alhaurin, which some historians translated as, The Valley, from the Arab root of "Al-Haur", due to its location in the valley of the Fahala river, while other historians consider the name as originating from the Arab word, Alhauerin, which means Almighty God.

In 1487, when the town was conquered by the Christian Monarchs, the name of the town became known as Alhaurín el Grande.

Alhaurín was a tax-exempt royal village under the Malaga jurisdiction. The land owners of the surrounding area of Alhaurín bought the freedom of the town and the title of Villa, for 4.5 million silver maravedis, but due to the town's very bad administration, the king ordered the town to submit itself to the jurisdiction of Coin. This order was unacceptable to the land owners and conflict between them and the monarchy resulted in disorder and many serious incidents.

One of the most important monuments of the town is the parish church of Our Lady of Grace, the patron saint of the town, which is built on the ruins of an Arab fortress. Another important monument is the hermitage of Saint Anton.

As with most towns in Andalucia, the main fiestas are Semana Santa (Holy Week), Corpus Christi, the Dia de la Virgen de Gracia on August 15th, and the feasts of San José and San Sebastián.