Gaucín

Gaucín municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Málaga
Comarca :	Serrania de Ronda
Coordinates	36 ° 31 ′  N , 5 ° 19 ′  W Coordinates: 36 ° 31 ′  N , 5 ° 19 ′  W
Height :	612  msnm
Area :	98.24 km²
Residents :	1,576 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	16.04 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	29480
Municipality number  ( INE ):	29056
Nearest airport :	Málaga ( Aeropuerto de Málaga , 117 km )
administration
Official language :	Castilian
Mayor :	Antonio María Marín Lara ( PA )
Website :	www.gaucin.es

Gaucín is a Spanish municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia in the province of Málaga . Gaucín belongs to the Serranía de Ronda .

geography

Geographical location

View from the tower of Castillo del Aquila over the valley of the Rio Genal and the landscape southeast of Gaucín

Gaucín is located on a mountain pass of the Sierra del Hacho, north above the Genal river , at an altitude of more than 600 m, just below the ridge on its south side. It is located on the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos , the first town in the Serranía de Ronda when you drive to Ronda from Gibraltar . A few kilometers to the east is the Cortes de la Frontera National Park .

vegetation

The surrounding vegetation is characterized by pine forests , further down loose deciduous forests with cork oaks , holm oaks and chestnuts , in a loose arrangement between fields, stands of olive trees and willows. At the very bottom of the river valley there is a meadow landscape.

Townscape

Under the castle ruins of Castillo del Aquila, the white houses of the village are grouped along narrow streets, according to the Moriski settlement image , many of which are only passable for pedestrians. The thoroughfare leads past the village and does not affect the interior of the village.

economy

Agriculture

The place and its population are traditionally dependent on agriculture. Grains are grown in the form of wheat, barley and maize, olives and vegetables such as beans, chickpeas and peas. Citrus fruits, apples, peaches, cherries, cabbage, beans, lettuce, onions and cucumbers are cultivated on the irrigated areas, which make up only 0.2% of the total area.

Industry and commerce

Most of the businesses in the community are small businesses.

tourism

Gaucín is nowhere near as touristy as the nearby coast or Ronda. Nevertheless, tourism offers an important source of income. There are a number of hotels and guest houses as well as manors with overnight accommodation. In the bars and restaurants in town you can hear English, German, Dutch and French voices during the season.

A number of foreigners have settled permanently in Gaucín, including the artists Michael Roschlau, Paddy Robinson, Jennifer Waterhouse, Bayard Osborn and Brenda Hartill.

history

In the Castillo del Aquila

Romans and Visigoths

The name Gaucín is of Arabic origin, as is the original name of the castle, which had the Moorish name Arrabalete . Nevertheless, historians are of the opinion that a settlement already existed on the site in Roman times, even if there are no finds that clearly prove this. A Roman road, paved with limestone, led from Gibraltar, mostly following the course of the river valleys, via Gaucín to Ronda.

In Loma de Enmedio , 4 km from Gaucin removed remains were of a village and a necropolis of the Visigoths found.

Arabs

The Arabs recognized the high strategic value of the hill above the mountain pass and built a fortress here, which they called Sachra Guazan , strong rock. The oldest historical information dates back to 914.

Reconquista

With Alfonso VIII the Christian armies came to Ronda. Fighting and raids continued throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, with the Arab counter-attacks gradually becoming rarer. The Moors had their bases in the mountains and from there caused unrest in the lowlands of Algeciras. In 1309 Alfonso Perez de Guzmán , known as Guzmán el Bueno , died near Gaucín in the battle against the Moors .

Gaucín was conquered in 1457 under Henry IV of Castile . However, the place only became finally Christian on May 27, 1485, when the place was captured by Pedro del Castillo . Then Ferdinand II raised him to the rank of first Alcaide (Vogt) of Gaucín in Ronda . Other Alcaids of Gaucín were Juan de Torres, after his death in 1496 his brother Rodrigo de Torres, from 1513 Juan de Maraver and from 1559 Juan de Campo Vaca de Mendoza.

Most of the Muslim population initially stayed in the village and were allowed to keep their property. In 1488, however, Ferdinand II founded a garrison in Gaucín. A part of the Muslim population rose up thereupon, killed part of the garrison garrison and drove the rest out. Under the leadership of the Marquis of Cádiz and the Count of Cifuentes , reinforced by troops from Seville , the Christians recaptured the place. All of the local Muslims who did not die were enslaved.

Napoleonic Wars

On July 8, 1810, in the course of the fifth invasion of the place by Napoleonic troops, they killed all residents they encountered. They set the local and church archives on fire and threw the sculpture of the baby Jesus down from the cliffs of the castle.

Carlist Wars

During the Carlist War , the area was occupied by troops under General Gómez in 1836. In 1839, under General Serrano Valdenebro, the fortress was modernized and reinforced, with a 40-man crew, 6 cannons and two mortars.

In 1848 an explosion of the powder magazine destroyed the castle. The ruins were then completely abandoned by the military.

tourism

Attractions

Aquila Castle

Presumably, the Romans already maintained a fortress on the mountain on the strategically important mountain pass. In the 9th century, the Moors built the main parts of what is now a ruin. After that, the castle was adapted several times to meet contemporary requirements before it was destroyed by the explosion in 1848.

Ermitá de Santo Niño

In the Ermitá de Santo Niño

Inside the outer walls of the Castillo del Aquila is the sanctuary of the Ermitá de Santo Niño (Hermitage of the Baby Jesus ). It was built in the 16th century to house a shrine dedicated to the veneration of an image of St. To create John of God . In 1720 a side aisle was added on the north side, which today houses the image of the saint. There was another major expansion in the 19th century when a side aisle was added on the south side.

More Attractions

Square with the Fuente de los Seis Caños

• The parish church of San Sebastián dates from the 16th century.
• In a small square in the center of the village is the Fuente de los Seis Caños , the fountain with the six springs that are designed as gargoyles in the shape of faces.
• The convent of the Carmelites was built in 1704 and was originally a hermitage , the Ermita de la Veracruz .
• Many of the town's white houses are decorated with artistically crafted wrought-iron window grilles, balconies and floral decorations. Among them are a number of mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries, with aristocratic coats of arms carved out of stone at the entrance.

kitchen

The cuisine corresponds to the regional cuisine in the Serranía de Ronda. Typical dishes are:

• Acinojos , a fennel preparation,
• the cold and the warm gazpacho ,
• the migas , a stew consisting of grapes, melons, watermelons, oranges, olives and salted herring, which is more likely to be eaten in the cooler season.

Typical sweets are

• the handmade cookies called alfajores ,
• white cakes made from eggs, olive oil, flour and baking powder,
• Almond cookies
• the so-called Sospiros (sighs); a kind of meringue made from egg whites and sugar, seasoned with a little lemon.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).

literature

• Francisco and Esteban García Mota: Gaucín. Ed. Ayuntamiento de Gaucín.

Web links

Commons : Gaucín  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the municipality (Spanish)
• La Gaceta de Gaucin (Spanish)