History of Salobreña

Salobreña is a town that boasts a wealth of history and heritage. Over the last 5,000 years, many different cultures have left their mark here on the promontory on which the town sits. From the Copper and Bronze Ages through to colonisation by the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and – most recently – the Moors, traces of these occupations can still be found in the town today.

They also left unique spaces where we can admire certain parts of this historic and artistic heritage, as well as places that hark back to the ambience of the Moorish settlement of Salobreña.

From the 13^th to the 15^th centuries, Salobreña’s medina – and its alcazaba, or castle, in particular – was a favoured holiday spot for the Nasrid sultans, as well as serving as a royal prison. From this privileged location, they could control the surrounding expanse of territory and maintain close trading relationships with North Africa.

Today, the unique sites that can be explored on a visit or during a walk through the historic town centre include this square, where the town hall and other public buildings have stood since the end of the Middle Ages; the former mosque, which is now the Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario; and a little higher up, the alcazaba of Salobreña, crowning the promontory.

You’ll also find charming nooks and neighbourhoods that still retain their Andalusian flavour, such as La Placeta, the Bovedilla district, Paseo de las Flores, and especially Calle Bóveda, which leads onto the scenic viewpoint of the Mirador de Enrique Morente. It’s the ideal place to take a stroll and enjoy not only the spectacular views, but also the tremendous wealth of cultural heritage.

Salobreña’s ideal location and rich natural surroundings attracted numerous peoples – the Argaric, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and finally the Arabs – who chose to settle there. This is confirmed by remains found at Monte Hacho, or the Paleo-Christian necropolis which sits on Salobreña’s crag.

The Muslim influence is still crearly visible in the castle crowning the town which was used as a summer residence by the Nasrid Kings, as a fortified palace and royal gaol. The quarters surrounding the fortress, La Villa, Brocal and Albaycín, reflect Salobreña’s medieval past. The modernisation and mechanisation of agricultural processes brought about by the industrial revolution had an important impact on the local economy, which was mainly based on the cultivation of sugar cane.

Salobreña 20th Century

In the second half of the nineteenth century when the town lost its military character and experienced a boom in the sugar cane industry, a widening in the town’s perimeter took place which necessitated the demolition of the remains of the town ‘s wall. In the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century, the town implemented a programme of urban expansion. But it was not until the seventies and eighties when the old quarter of the town expanded toward the fertile plain land adjacent to the rock. During this century a few XX century buildings were built.

If you want to know more about Salobreña’s history,  you can continue reading about La Caleta and Lobres or download the PDF ‘Salobreña Histórica’.

Around 3500 B.C.

In the 3rd millennium BC prehistoric communities settled permanently in the town of Salobreña. We know little about the economy of these villages but we assume it would be based primarily on farming and, to a lesser extent, on the exploitation of marine resources. It’s also possible they exploited the copper veins present in the nearby mountines. Sites from this era of Salobreña; in the vicinity of the current Paseo de las Flores, in Piedra Blanca (now called Monte de los Almendros) and in the north behind the present industrial area of Salobreña, a cemetery was located on the Monte Hacho Hill.

Phoenicians (VII B.C.)

The Phoenicians were a people mainly devoted to trade. Heading out from ancient Phoenicia (present day Lebanon), they often sought sites to settle that were near the coast, as the sea was always their main commercial thoroughfare. They primarily occupied peninsulas and islands near a river bed that would allow them easy access inland, and protection for their vessels. From the first millennium BC their early influence on the Andalusian coast can be found, but it was not until the 8th century BC when they established in Salobreña, which was then called Selambina. They Founded a small colony alongside this indigenous population and forged close trade and cultural links with them.

Roman Selambina (III B.C.)

Selambina (Salobreña) joined the Roman Empire in 206 BC It is mentioned in the 1st century B.C and the 1st century AD by notable academics such as Pliny the Elder, local geographer Pomponio Mela, and the Greek Ptolemy. The rock (known locally as El Peñon) that now sits on the edge of the beach, was, back then, an island. This was also used throughout the Roman period: as a marine sanctuary, for fishing, and as a cemetery. We know this due to numerous remains that have been found dating from the 2nd – 1st centuries BC and the 4th – 5th centuries AD. The marine sanctuary had a Punic population and, under Roman rule, a temple was built to the goddess Tanit.

Christian Salobreña

The end of the Muslim occupation of Salobreña came in 1489 when, following the fall of Baza and Almería, the entire coastline of Granada was taken from Muhammad XII (aka El Zagal), and came under the rule of the Castilian Christian conquerors. The fall of the Muslim Kingdom of Granada did nothing to diminish the extent of sugarcane cultivation and, in the sixteenth century, the industry was still very important to the local area. What we do know is that the population was centred around the former Town Hall Square and the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, both in the old quarter of Salobreña. The districts of Loma, Brocal, and the Albayzín preserve some of the urban structures of the middle ages.

Muslim Salubanya

The first written references by Arab writers regarding Salobreña start to appear in the 10th century. These come from the hand of Al-Razi, who refers to it as the castle of Cora Elvira, and the Cordoban chronicler Ibn Hayyan – who tells us that the rebel leader Muqtabis Umar ben Hafsun was in Salobreña during his struggles with Cordoba in 907, and in 918, Abd Al-Rahman III took Salobreña and left with it a military detachment. During the 10th century the settlement underwent a period of struggle that ultimately led to the imposition of an Islamic state in Al-Andalus.