Carratraca is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the

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Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The municipality is situated approximately 56 km from

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

and from the provincial capital of Málaga. It is located between the northeastern foothills of the Serrania de Ronda. It has a population of approximately 850 residents. It is one of the northern gates to the Guadalhorce Valley and border territory between these two

comarcas A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

and that of Antequera, which connects with

Ardales Ardales is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is approximately 62.5 kilometres from Málaga. On the hill above the town is the historic church and ...

. The landscape has very steep slopes in the Sierras of Alcaparín and is milder in the Sierras of Baños and Aguas, covered with pine trees and scrub pine and the occasional olive grove where the terrain permits. In the valley that runs through the town from north to south, and through which flows the stream of las Cañas, the field contains orchards on the banks of the streams and cereal crops and olive groves between them and the beginning of the mountains. Within the town of Carratraca, the architectural ensemble is shaped by the house of Doña Trinidad Grund, turned into the City Hall, and the tower next to said house. The terraces of these buildings offer views of the surroundings. Near the stream of Pinos in the Sierra de Alcaparaín and a chasm 40 metres deep, a Neolithic burial, like a paint schematic of cruciform type and pottery with incised decoration has located. The strategic location of this land, between two towns with rich history, such as

Álora Álora is a town and municipality in southern Spain in the province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located c. 40 km from Málaga, on the right bank of the river Guadalhorce and on the Córdoba-Málaga railway, withi ...

and Ardales, favored the presence of man in it since ancient times. The healing properties of sulfur springs that flow into Carratraca caught the attention of the Romans, who left copper and silver coins and statues of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, Claudius and

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

at the site known as "La Glorieta", and a late Roman necropolis in Los Maderos near the stream of las Cañas. The natives are called ''Carratraqueños''.

History

The origin of the municipality of Carratraca begins in the nineteenth century. Don Jose Salgado wrote a monograph in 1725, which stated that in this area there was only one house, known as the Cortijo de Aguas Hediondas. However, the baths found in the slope of the spring, the graves and remains of pottery discovered at different points of the town and above all, the traces of a fort, suggest that these places were inhabited during the Roman rule and, later abandoned for reasons unknown, are now covered by thick oak. Carratraca was formed with the help its sulphurous waters. According to tradition, the discovery of the therapeutic properties of the waters was made by a beggar, Juan Camisón, so called because his only clothing consisted of a long and wide gown so as not to bother the sores covering his body. This man came to a farmhouse next to the spring to implore the charity of its inhabitants and noted that a goatherd threw water to the animals that had sores on their skin, and after some time healed. He then bathed himself and decided that after several dives, he also was healed. With a more documented foundation, we know that in 1817 there was already a doctor in charge of the study and analysis of water and the sick.

References

{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Málaga Towns in Spain