Municipality

Estepona is the westernmost city on the Costa del Sol. It borders the municipalities of Casares, Gaucín and Marbella and belongs to the provincial administration of Costa del Sol Occidental. The back country is dominated by the mountain chain of the Sierra Bermeja, whose mountains can be seen from Estepona. The city is increasingly evolving into a work of art with murals and flower-adorned streets. (Editor/Photos/Video: mit – Source: Provincial Administration of Málaga, Info-tables on the places, Wikipedia.es)

Already in the early history about 2.000 BC, people have settled in the municipality of Estepona. Correspondingly old flints and dolmens – stone blocks that were mainly used for graves – were discovered along the Vaquero River.

From about 100 BC, the Romans settled in the municipality of Estepona. They built, among other things, salt plants that were used to preserve food. Archaeologists found the remains of a Roman village during excavations.

Nevertheless, the name Estepona is attributed to the Moors. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba they ruled over big parts of Andalusia from 929 and built a fortress they called Al-Extebunna. The name of today's city was born.

In the course of the so-called Reconquista, King Enrique IV of Castile drove the Moors from Estepona and gained power in the middle of the 15th century. From this point on Estepona's history has been well documented.

The municipality was subordinate to the judicial district of Marbella, which was headed by Joan I of Castile (also known as Juana la Loca). At that time only 600 people lived in Estepona. Almost 200 years later Estepona gained absolute independence in 1729.

Numerous buildings in the center of Estepona still testify to the Moorish and Roman occupation, such as the fire towers (Torres Almenaras), which were used to send smoke signals to other districts and communities to warn the Moors in the wake of the Reconquista before Roman soldiers or pirates. In addition, there is the Clock Tower, built as a church in the 16th century, and the church Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, which was a Franciscan monastery in the 18th century.

Estepona's economy is dominated by tourism and the construction industry. But agriculture should not be forgotten here either. Numerous vegetables and citrus fruits are grown in Estepona – including exotic specimens such as avocados. In addition, the fishing is booming. Sardines, anchovies and mussels are especially sought after here.

The climate in Estepona 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 14 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 13 degrees. On average, there are 3.000 hours of sunshine per year.