Benalmádena History and Culture

Historical Benalmádena


The first known settlements in Benalmádena date back to the end of the upper late Palaeolithic, as evidenced by the archaeological remains found in some of the municipality's caves (Cueva del Toro, Cueva de los Botijos and Cueva de la Zorrera).



Castillo de Bil Bil Benalmádena Costa

In the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. the Phoenicians reached this coastal area, giving rise to the cultural exchange of farming techniques, cattle raising and trade. The remains of some Phoenician settlements can be found in the municipality.


Roman settlements followed and numerous remains can be found along the coast of Benalmádena. The ruins of a salting factory in the Benal-Roma area, together with ruins of other villages and fishing facilities near Torremuelle and Capellanía are particularly noteworthy.


It was at this time that the famous botanist and doctor Ibn-Al-Baytar was born (1190-Damascus, 1248), a celebrity of his age. The watchtowers marking the Benalmádena coast, whose mission was to keep the area free from the attacks of the pirates that threatened the coast, also date back to that time


Following a period during which different cultures passed through Benalmádena, the Arabs arrived in southern Spain. The town's name, of Arab origin, comes from the Arab word 'Ben-Al-Madina', which means 'children of the mines'. This could be due to the existence of mines in the area, from which iron ore but mainly ochre had been extracted since Phoenician times.


Following the Christian Reconquest the town's history went through a dark period due to the fact that the area had been practically abandoned as local inhabitants fled out of fear of attacks from the sea. Several attempts to repopulate the municipality were made but none of them were successful.



Castillo de Bil Bil Benalmádena Costa

It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that the area began to recover with regards to population, partly due to the several paper mills that were built (four white paper mills and two brown paper ones) and to social stability. The growth of this industry lasted about twenty years and continued into the 19th century with the establishment of farming, particularly vineyards, which eventually became the sole crop of the area. At the beginning of the 20th century, a plague of phylloxera caused serious damage to all crops and resulted in an economic slump.


During this period Benalmádena's old fortifications and castle (which used to be where the current Muro de Benalmádena presently stands) were systematically destroyed and at present there are hardly any physical vestiges of that time left.


Finally, the real growth of Benalmádena began halfway through the 20th century with the construction of the first hotels and the arrival of tourism, which is today's main source of income.



Benalmádena Beach - Playa Bil Bil

In the 1950's, the possibility of exploiting tourism in the Costa del Sol started to be valued, and some investors acquired plots of land along the coast for the purpose of building the first hotels. At that time the area was not referred to in any special way, since few people knew it, and was simply called 'the road from Malaga to Cadiz' or even wrongly thought to belong to Torremolinos, which was still a part of Malaga administratively speaking.


The first hotel in this area was La Roca, which was soon followed by the construction of many others - the Siroco, Tritón, Riviera, Alay... As a result many first-class hotels were concentrated within a few metres of each other, converting Benalmádena into a distinctive location.


At the same time, the municipality became aware of the possibilities this new industry could offer and decided to make a special effort to improve the area's town centres and leisure infrastructure.


Several moments of Benalmádena's recent history are particularly significant and have contributed to its becoming a privileged enclave. First its designation as a Village of interest to visitors at the beginning of the 1970's, at about the same time it received several prizes for embellishing its streets, enhanced Benalmádena as a destination for tourists, particularly foreigners. Then in 1973 the Tivoli amusement park was inaugurated, providing a totally new type of leisure centre which remained the only one of its kind for almost thirty years.



"The Islands" of Puerto Marina
Benalmádena's Marina

However, the most important moment for the municipality was the commissioning and opening of the Benalmádena marina, the largest along the coast. On several occasions it has been awarded the prize for the 'best marina in the world' by specialised communication companies. It has over 1000 moorings, a beautiful architecture and leisure and amusement facilities that attract millions of visitors every year.


Finally, the last significant event for this town was the launch of the Proyecto Olimpo (Olimpo project), whose main objective was and still is the creation of new leisure and amusement installations in order to improve the municipality's leisure facilities (a cable car, monorail, enlargement of the marina, theme parks, amongst others), and to build, improve and/or adapt all infrastructures so as to provide the municipality with quality standards and sustained growth that its 21th-century inhabitants and tourists were asking for.


Sights and Sounds in Benalmádena

Suburbs of Benalmádena

Arroyo de la Miel
Benalmádena Costa

Info on Benalmádena Welcome and Enjoy