Carratraca Spain
A town between the Serrania de Ronda and Antequera areas which has since time immemorial been considered a gateway to the Guadalhorce valley.
The town, of Arabic origin, grew in the 19th century as a result of the presence here of sulphorous waters whose curative properties had already been discovered by the Romans. In the mid-1900s, an attractive Neoclassical spa was built, and it is still visited in large numbers today by sufferers of a variety of ailments.
Another building of interest is the Town Hall, formerly the residence of Doña Trinidad Grund.
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History
Within the town's municipal boundaries, in a chasm forty metres deep in the Sierra de Alcaparain, schematic paintings and archaeological remains from the Eneolithic period have been found. Human presence in the area since the beginning of prehistory is evident in the neighbouring village of Ardales where the Doña Trinidad Grund Cave features cave paintings of animals such as goats, horses and stags, belonging to the Upper Palaeolithic period (Solutrean and Magdalenian eras, 18.000 - 14.000 B.C.).
The springs of sulphorous waters which flow in Carratraca were used by the Romans, as witnessed by the site of La Glorieta, where copper and silver coins bearing the images of several Roman emperors have been discovered.
Although there was a settlement here during the Moslem occupation of Spain, the present-day town dates back to the 19th century and appeared as a result of successive extensions to a farm called Aguas Hediondas, the site of a spa and a chapel to Our Lady built in the 18th century.
Carratraca Council
Address: C/ Glorieta, 2. 29551. Carratraca (Malaga).
Phone Number: +34 952 458 016.
Official Website: www.carratraca.es (only in Spanish).
Information in English: Carratraca village.
View the map of Carratraca.
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