Fuengirola History and the battle of the castle.

Fuengirola is located on Costa del Sol in Andalucia, between Mijas Costa and Benalmadena and covers an area of nearly 11 km2. (It’s the smallest community in Spain). Its boundaries include the Arroyo del Jardín stream in the northeast, the Fuengirola River in the southeast, mountains in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the town of Mijas in the west. It became an independent municipality in 1953 but its history goes much further back.

Fuengirola has a long history.

Like most of the Iberian peninsula in general and the Costa del Sol in particular, Phoenicians, possibly Tartessians, Romans, Visigoths, and Arabs all set up residence in the area now known as Fuengirola before Catholic Christians arrived. The foothills of the mountain range behind the town to the south are the site of an Arab castle, which contains remains of an early Ibero-punic or Phoenician settlement, later occupied by the Romans, which became a town known by them as Suel. Suel was identified by the Roman historian, Pomponius Mela, as one of the towns of the coast, and was cited by Pliny in the first century AD as a fortified town or oppidum.

A later historian, Ptolemy, identified it during the second century as being located in the region of the bastulo-penos or Phoenicians. The inscription on the pedestal of a statue found near the castle mentions Suel as being a Roman ‘municipium’. A funeral urn found in the same area has an inscription containing the word ‘Suelitana’. Roman baths were discovered in 1961 and, close by, the remains of a Roman villa containing two sculptures, one of which is the well known ‘Venus of Fuengirola’ which is exhibited in the town’s museum.

A series of architectural components, probably transported from the Mijas quarry during the Roman era, were discovered in Los Boliches in 1984. These have now been mounted to form a temple entrance, and can be seen on the promenade at Los Boliches. The Roman baths, a villa, and the aforementioned statue of Venus have all been found here.

The Moors was building the first castle.

It was a tidal wave, pirates, or destruction by the Visigoths that made Fuengirola ‘disappear’ from the historical record during the early middle Ages. Later the Moors settled in the area, building a castle, updating the area's name to Suhayl, which then consisted of various villages dependent on agriculture. Suhayl became a fairly large settlement, and included a fair amount of farmland and small villages. Most of the area was however used as pasture for the Moorish rulers’ camels.

The Moorish presence was consolidated from the 8th century onwards, and evidence of their settlements is the burial ground discovered near the hot springs at Torreblanca. It was from this period that we get the name Sohail, a bastardisation of the Latin Suel. The castle was destroyed in a Viking raid in 858 AD and the people took refuge in Mijas.

Abd ar-Rahman or Abderramán rebuild the castle.

It was not until the 10th century that the Cordoba leader, Abd ar-Rahman or Abderramán III, reconstructed the fortress and rebuilt the urban centre, and it then remained in Moorish hands until captured by the Christians in 1485. The historian Temboury described Suhayl as a pretty and sophisticated town, the home of eminent writers who added its name to theirs – the most well known being the great poet As-Sohaili, who wrote a few verses about his native land, expressing his concern at the destruction of his birthplace. The insecurity related to the Christian ‘re-conquest’ of Spain changed Suhayl’s fortunes and it was left deserted and in ruins after it was captured by the Catholic kings’ army in 1485.

The Christians toke over and change the name.

The Christians renamed it Font-Girola after the stream at the foot of the hill upon which stood the castle. An attempt to repopulate the site with 30 people failed, and in 1511 it was registered as uninhabited, apart from the fortress and a watchtower. Land originally set aside for Fuengirola was reallocated to Mijas. After the Turkish and Moroccan pirates stopped their local activities, the town was slowly but surely repopulated basing its economy on fishing, agriculture, and trade.

During the 17th century, a new urban settlement developed opposite the original site, once the threat from Turkish and Moroccan pirates had disappeared. At the beginning of the 18th century an inn was opened near the beach, offering accommodation to travelers, muleteers and seafarers. A few huts were built nearby, forming a small village.

The Battle of Fuengirola castle 1810.

The Battle of Fuengirola took place in the area during the Peninsular War. On October 15 1810 approximately 200 Polish soldiers of the Duchy of Warsaw defeated a mixed British-Spanish force numbering some 3,000 soldiers under Lord Blayney. Andrew Thomas Blayney, 11th Baron of Blayney was a veteran of Irish, Dutch, Italian, Egyptian and Indian campaigns and a participant of the siege of Malta.

He sailed from Gibraltar toward Fuengirola which was defended by Poles, about whom he had very low opinion saying that ‘‘little dependence could be placed’’on them. The 150-165 Poles in Fuengirola were commanded by Officer Mlokosiewicz. Blayney’s troops landed at noon and marched northeast along the shore towards the old castle. At 1 pm ‘‘a large group of Spanish guerrillas’’ attacked the Poles, captured their cattle and killed and wounded two Polish guards. Approximately 40 Poles grabbed their muskets and ran out after the Spaniards.

Poles army and Mlokosiewicz win the battle.

But when Mlokosiewicz saw British warships he recalled the pursuers. The British and Spanish infantry, after the initial show of force, deployed on the hills and Blayney demanded immediate surrender. Officer Mlokosiewicz eyes flashed defiance and he bluntly responded: ‘‘Come and take it!’’ 130 Polish infantry ran up the slope where the British battery was. The Poles were joined by 11 French dragoons and attacked 1,060 Brits.

They routed the entire British battalion and captured 40 as prisoners including Blayney and his adjutant. They then loaded the British cannons with British ammunition and bombarded the Brits on the beach and at sea. The aloof Lord Blayney was shocked and the ensuing battle resulted in a victory for the Poles. General Sebastiani de la Porta who commanded all French and Polish forces around Málaga arrived at Fuengirola on October 16th and showered the Poles with praise.

Mlokosiewicz was awarded and Blayney was given a seat in parliament.

Mlokosiewicz was awarded with Legion d'Honneur. Blayney’s saber is today in Poland, in the city of Krakow. In Warsaw, in the Museum of Army, there is a picture depicting the heroic defense of Fuengirola. Blayney described the Poles, ‘‘The scene that presented itself at this moment can never be effaced from my memory: both [Polish] officers and soldiers had all the appearance of those desperate banditti described in romances; their long mustachios, their faces blackened by smoke and gunpowder, and their bloody and torn clothes, giving to their whole appearance a degree of indescribable ferocity.’’

Blayney fought to the end before he was knocked to the ground and taken prisoner. The Poles wanted to kill him but Frenchman Frederic Petit saved him. The Poles brought their prisoners, including Blayney, to the castle. Blayney had to step on the castle wall and signal to the ships to cease fire. So he did without any hesitation and the warships sailed away. During Blayney’s long incarceration, the 2nd Earl of Caledon looked after his financial, domestic and political affairs and, on his return; Blayney was given a seat in parliament. Blayney died on 8th April 1832 and was succeeded by his son Cadwallader, the 12th and last lord.

Fuengirola become to be an independent town.

The castle was reconstructed again in the 18th century with the aim of fighting smugglers in the area, and from then on the town became an important supply centre for ships sailing towards the Straits of Gibraltar. In May 1841 Fuengirola was detached from Mijas. At that time its inhabitants were mainly engaged in fishing, agriculture and trading with the ships that dropped anchor in the bay. Another story about the origins of the town’s name is that it comes from a Genoa ship called a ‘‘girona’’, that frequently made harbour here, trading in groceries (boliches). Thus the name Los Boliches formerly separate from but now forming part of the same urban area as Fuengirola.

For over a century, fishing and agriculture remained the main activities. In 1822 the people of Fuengirola applied to the authorities in Málaga to be given independence from Mijas. They made their application on the basis of Fuengirola having a population of 1,000 inhabitants (the minimum legal requirement for setting up a separate municipality) and with an economy based on fishing and the port. The census of 1,000 was disputed by the Mijas Town Hall, who declared there were less than 500.

However, later in 1841 the authorities accepted the division and Fuengirola gained its independence, a mayor was elected and a Town Hall was built. The way the boundaries were laid out at this time has always been a bone of contention with the people of Fuengirola, who feel that they were short-changed in terms of land allocation. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and during further growth and expansion of Fuengirola, this problem has come up time and time again when new projects are mooted.

Fuengirola grow by the tourist boom.

It became a municipality in its own right in 1953. It was only in the 1960s that Fuengirola entered a new phase, becoming a leading tourist centre. Since then Fuengirola has grown and grown. In the last few years Fuengirola has boomed, apartments, villa and particularly in the commercial sector. 2002 there was only Dunnes block on the other side of the N340 and a hotel but, since then, another hotel, the Myramar Centre and Centro Commercial Miramar have gone up. El Corte Ingles has opened up and there is more new development going up behind the Miramar. Los Pacos has blossomed with probably too many blocks of apartments and a much needed connection to the N340.

The Sohail Castle remained an abandoned ruin until renovations began in 1995. In 2000 the interior of the castle was completely renovated and the Sohail castle began to host festivals and concerts throughout the summer. Additional landscaping was completed in 2002 and the castle is now one of the highlights of Fuengirola cultural and historical scene. For me Fuengirola is developing into one of the most popular towns on the coast. It is certainly becoming more cosmopolitan and is very popular with the older generation because of its flat terrain.

Fuengirola will be one of the most popular towns on the coast.

The amount of money spent on the town over the last ten years has turned it from a dated tourist destination to a chic and sought after area. The main streets and the Paseo Maritimo are becoming more and more attractive. Property prices are still more competitive than many other parts of the coast with their flashy luxury villas and I believe Fuengirola will continue to grow with new apartments and villas and will surprise everybody in a few years and become one of the most popular towns on the coast.

It has always been regarded as the poorer brother to places like Marbella and Puerto Banus but this could be to its advantage as regards keeping property prices down, for the time being at least. Things change as we all know and, with the demise of Marbella in recent years, the coast is looking for a new ‘‘belle of the Costa’’. If the continuous rumors of the port development ever came to pass (these rumors have we heard before) Fuengirola could become the place to be on the Costa del Sol.

Fuengirola is an international town.

Fuengirola now offers all the facilities to be expected of a major tourist centre: hotels, restaurants, bars, discotheques, sports clubs, international schools, a yacht harbour, and 7 km of broad beaches along a promenade extending east and west from the town. Many lovely golf courses in just 10 minutes drive from the city. Of the approximately 60,000 inhabitants registered in the municipality, 25% come from other countries, mainly European (England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland and Sweden, among others), and also from Morocco and Argentina. In the summer especially the town plays host to throngs of visitors, both Spanish and foreign, but particularly the British and Scandinavians.

Whatever the future holds for this surprisingly historic town, Fuengirola I believe is to become one of the most prominent towns on the Costa del Sol.