Fuengirola tourist information
It seems almost a paradox, when one considers its population and the role it plays in tourism and the fact that it has eight kilometres of beaches, that the municipal area of Fuengirola is only 10 square kilometres. Possibly the paradox is explained by the fact that when it came to distributing territory no one could have foreseen that the tourism explosion of the twentieth century would shatter, not just the barriers imposed by the Administration, but even more the nineteenth century idea of the natural development of municipalities.
With its own boundaries overrun by formidable tourism growth, the city has found it necessary to direct its development toward the territory of Mijas, with the curious result that half of a particular street belongs to Fuengirola and the other half to Mijas, the municipality with which it shares most of its boundary.
Historical records show that it was Phoenician colonisers who founded Fuengirola, although it seems probable that Bastulos and other tribes had been present in this enclave halfway between Cádiz and Málaga. The Phoenicians set up a salted fish trading post at what they called Suel, and from there they traded with the other Mediterranean cities. The Romans made Suel a federated municipality that was assigned by Augustus to the “conventus” of Gades (Cádiz). It is believed that in those times there was a very powerful oligarchy at this place and that its inhabitants worshipped Neptune.
There are hardly any records of the Visigoth era but under Muslim rule during the caliphate of Abderramán III there was an enlargement of the castle that stands out so prominently on a hill in the western part of the city contiguous to the river that bears the city’s name, Fuengirola. It was in this castle that Enrique II of Castile and the Nazarite Yusuf I signed a truce in 1340 that allowed a resurgence of commerce. The fortress has now been restored and suitably adapted as an open-air auditorium. The Arabs changed the name from Suel to Sohail, the name of a star of the constellation Argos that, curiously and according to legend, could only be seen from the castle itself.
After the conquest of the region by the Catholic Monarchs in 1487 the castle was destroyed but the frequent pirate raids that afflicted the Mediterranean coast necessitated its reconstruction. Years afterward, during the War of Independence, French, English and Spaniards fought over the fortress due to its status as a strategic defensive location.
The modern name of the town derives from the “girolas”, craft that Genovese sailors based in this area used in fishing for small fish or “boliche”, a word that also was also used in the name of the former detached township of Santa Fe de los Boliches, now a part of the town.
The Mediterranean Expressway (A-7; N-340) perfectly links the town of Fuengirola with the rest of the Costa del Sol. It is also possible to get here by train (Route C-2 of the “Cercanías” or commuter line) from Málaga, Torremolinos and Arroyo de la Miel (Benalmádena) or from the airport.
The Castillo Sohail (Sohail Castle), which was destroyed and rebuilt several times, is without a doubt the epitome of Fuengirola monuments, both for its long and turbulent history and its unmistakable silhouette that has become the symbol of the city. The fortress is surrounded by powerful square towers and every part of it has been meticulously restored to prevent deterioration and to render it useful as a cultural and tourist resource since, as has been stated, it has been converted into a remarkable open-air auditorium. Inside it a small museum has been set up with models that help in understanding the history of the place.
Due to the profound and rapid change in the city over the last three decades, hardly any traces remain of the former fishermen’s neighbourhood, much less of the market gardens whose fields used to stretch to the sea’s edge. This area is totally occupied by a magnificent seafront promenade –one of the longest on the Spanish coast-from which Fuengiroleños and visitors look out at the sea. Bars, large terraces, numerous businesses, restaurants and landscaped areas line the eight kilometres of the seafront promenade, which also includes a bustling leisure port and beach bars for sampling local seafood.
In contrast with this modern tourism infrastructure, the town’s archaeological sites offer the visitor the opportunity for a detailed journey through its most ancient history. In Suel, on the mouth of the River Fuengirola, remains have been unearthed of an aqueduct, mosaics, epigraphs and parts of dwellings, as well as several burial sites south of the castle. This was all related to the salted fish industry, especially the making of garum (a fish sauce).
On the left bank of the river, where a cemetery is located, Finca de Acevedo preserves a salted fish trading post with dwellings and a late Roman necropolis, while at Finca del Secretario, along the Pajares stream, salting troughs have been found along with bathhouses, ovens and dwellings and a sculpture of Venus from the second century A. D. Likewise, in Torreblanca del Sol, near the Las Presas stream, some bathhouses have been found that had been converted into a salted fish trading post, and also a cistern and a Visigoth necropolis.
A good documentation of the more than 2,600 years of this beautiful Mediterranean city’s history can be found in the Museo de Historia (Museum of History) of the town.
Visit Costa Del Sol Tourist Board
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