Municipality

Algarrobo is a township located in the Axarquía about 38 kilometres outside of Málaga city. The township runs north to the mountain village Sayalonga and in the west up to the city of Vélez-Málaga. In the east it is limited by Torrox. Algarrobo Costa, Mezquitilla and Trayamar are parts of the township Algarrobo. (Editor/Photos/Video: mit – Source: Provincial Administration of Málaga, Info-tables on the places, Wikipedia.es)

The origins of Algarrobo probably date back to the Paleolithic times, although the first settlements were documented within the Bronze Age. The German professors Schubart and Niemeyer have cataloged the archaeological excavations such as the Phoenician tomb in Trayamar and the remains found in the estuary of the Algarrobo river in Mezquitilla as the most important finds from the time of the Phoenicians. The following studies show that the Phoenician settlement at the estuary of the Algarrobo River already existed in the ninth century BC. The Phoenicians were a trading nation originally based in the eastern part of the Mediterranean coast, and rapidly spread in Andalusia. The proximity to Africa, and thus to new trade partners, made Andalusia attractive to the Phoenicians.

Just before the time of Christ, the Romans gained power and conquered big parts of Europe. From that time onwards Algarrobo benefited from the Roman empire, a standardized trading area and a network of roads which guaranteed trade any time.

At the end of the 15th century, there was an argument between Doña Catalina de Ribera, who had control over Algarrobo, and moorish immigrants. This conflict led to a short-time depopulation of the village. In the middle of the 630s the so-called isalmic expansion followed, which also caught Andalusia and its village Algarrobo.

In the 19th century Napoleon's troops wanted to destroy Algarrobo. This reason for that was to retaliate the death of twelve soldiers of Napoleon's army. Just in time, a slaughter of the people in Algarrobo could be prevented. To commemorate this time (September 23, 1811) the Crusade of Napoleon is played on the streets of Algarrobo every year. For this festival the inhabitants of Algarrobo wear clothes created by themselves in the same style like the clothes used by the people living in the 19th century.

Algarrobo mainly lives from the agrarian economy. Apart from avocados, chirimoyas, mangos and papayas, garlic, fruits and vegetables are cultivated in the township. Within the summer period the township is also boosted by tourism.

The climate in Algarrobo is mild and constant. Within the summer, from May to October, the temperatures rise up to 30 degrees and more by day while they never drop below 20 degrees at night. During the winter from October to May, the temperatures reach a daily value of about 18 to 22 degrees, while at night it could be cold by only ten degrees. All the year you do have a constant humidity. The water temperature rises from 23 to 26 degrees in the summer. In winter it hardly drops below 16 degrees.