| Benalmádena | |||
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| Location of Benalmádena | |||
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Benalmádena
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Benalmádena
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous community | Andalusia | ||
| Province | Province of Málaga | ||
| Comarca | Costa del Sol Occidental | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Enrique Moya | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 27.2 km2 (10.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 58,854 | ||
| • Density | 2,163.8/km2 (5,604.1/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Benalmadenses | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 29630, 29631, 29639 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Benalmádena is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 12 km to the west of the city of Málaga, on the southern coast between Torremolinos and Fuengirola, in the heart of the Costa del Sol and Alhaurín de la Torre in the North. It has a population of approximately 53,000 residents, but also caters for a large number of tourists. The town is also home to Benalmádena Stupa, the largest stupa (a structure important in Buddhism) in the Western world, standing 33 m tall.
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Historically the region has been occupied and settled by many cultures dating back to the Bronze Age, including the ancient Phoenicians and Romans, and has also been considerably influenced by the Moorish settlement of the southern Iberian peninsula. Two Almenara towers on the coastline date back to the 15th century, originally built to guard the coast and its population from the frequent incursions of Barbary pirates in the days following the reconquista of the region by Henry IV of Castile.
In contemporary times, along with the rest of the Costa del Sol area it has become an important tourist destination. The municipality has been subject to an unprecedented urban expansion in recent years with many new buildings and homes built, sometimes causing environmental degradation.
The name is derived from the Arabic "Eben al-Medina", or "Son of the Settlement".
Benalmadena has both a traditional Spanish village and a modern, coastal, tourist area. Many authors give theories about the origin of the name of the town, but none has been proven as true. The first documents which contain references to Benalmádena from the fifteenth century in the context of the struggle to win back the Crown of Castilla against the Nazari Kingdom of Granada. The assumption on which most historians agree is the Arabic toponym of Ibn al-ma’ din “son of the mines” for the iron and ochre bed found in the area. Another theory, also related to the Arabic word Bina al-ma’din, whose translation would be “the construction or building of the mine There are others theories like the translation to the Arabian of “people between springs” Bena-A La Ena. On other hand, is believed that the possible name of Bina al-Madina could be “the state of the al-Madina’s family”. According to the historical data, they were a rich family at the Muslim Málaga and they could own the area. Finally, it has been suggested that the name of the municipality referred to a lineage of the Madana. Ben al-Madana.
The first human settlements in the area are from upper Palaeolithic, 20.000 years as the findings of some caves located in the area: “Cueva Del Toro”, “Cueva del botijo” and “Cueva de la Zorrera” In the eight and seventh centuries BC, the Phoenicians, were interested of the mining of the zone. Phoenicians see left their mark on the Malaga coast and founded several colonies all over the Spanish coast. Romans replaced Phoenicians at the trade and start to use the Mediterranean richness. Among the Romans remains are the ruins of Benal-Roma, a salting factory located on the coast, the site of Torremuelle, and enamelware and other items preserved in the Museum of Benalmádena. The wine culture had great importance during the period of roman domination.
The following centuries the areas were so depopulated. Locals sought refuge into the Malaga’s city walls for the attacks and looting came from the sea. The municipality, were including into the roman province of Baetica, and after that were takes for Visigoths and Byzantines. After the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, this area has a major development. In XI century, the population were concentrated into a walled town and a fortress, both located in “Benalmádena pueblo”. Muslims develop the agriculture and introduced the sugar cane, figs, grapes and mulberry (used at the textile industry) brought from the East. In this times are when Ibn al-Baitar was born (1197) one of the most important botanic and pharmacologists of the middle age.
In 1456 the fort and the town were destroyed by Christian armies under the command of King Enrique IV de Castilla. The villager, take refuge in Mijas to rebuild their homes, to be destroyed again in 1485 by Fernando the catholic in his final conquest. The next six years, the town were deserted until 1491, when the king order to Alonso Palmero the colonization of the area with thirty old Christians and himself as a mayor, but an earthquake and the constant pirate’s attacks, makes impossible to habit the town. It was in these times when the Arabic name became Castilianize and the town started to be Benalmaina.
In 1784, the Italian Félix Solesio purchased the farm “Arroyo de la Miel” to build six paper factories to supply the Royal Factory of Playing Cards of Macharaviaya, whose final destination was the American market. This would mean the birth of the nucleus Arroyo de la Miel around the new business and the factories built at the actual “Plaza de España”, where now day it can be visited the gate “Portal de San Carlos” with the badge of Solesio and the building “La tribuna”. In this square, they made a monument to the founder of this complex. In the nineteenth century, the city growth through the exploitation of the muscatel raisins and grapes for the wine production, but the plague of phylloxera ruined crops across the province. Since then, epidemics of malaria, typhoid and cholera undermine the population. The municipality’s population boom is produced from the fifties and sixties with the birth and development of tourism on the Spanish coast. Many hotels, restaurants and business opened them doors (Hotel Triton [1961], Tivoli world amusement park [1973], Torrequebrada casino and hotel [1979], Selwo aquarium, See Life aquarium, Chollocasa, Cable car, Irentinsapain, Hotel Alay, and many more[the last decade] )making the location as famous as it is.
The municipality has three main urban areas:
The township of Benalmádena has the largest example of a Buddhist stupa in the Western world, Benalmádena Stupa, constructed in 2003.
In Arroyo de la Miel, (Avenida Garcia Lorca), is the Costa del Sol's only real ice skating rink together with an indoor swimming pool.
Benalmádena Council is integrated in Malaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium, that offers a payment ticket available on the metropolitan and urban bus, railway and, for the future Malaga Underground.
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