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Coin’s
municipal territory stretches from the considerable heights of the Alpujata
range, one of the mountain masses that separate the interior of the province
from the western coast, to the centre of the Guadalhorce valley region. This
descent is gentle but there are strong contrasts to be seen not only in the
changing contours of the earth but also in the types of crops and vegetation.
Thus, while pines and cork oaks abound in the mountains, the landscape of
the lower elevations is dominated by orchards and gardens, and near the River
Guadalhorce broad expanses of citrus and even subtropical crops make their
appearance. For more information about property
for sale in Spain in or near Coin please contact us.
It is not strange in such a country as this, with a temperate climate, favourable terrain and abundant water, since the Rivers Pereilas and Grande, tributaries of the Guadalhorce, flow through it, that the first human settlements occurred during the Paleolithic period. The site known as the “Taller” (workshop) of Ardite furnished materials for making tools during that prehistoric period, while notable Metals Age sites are Cerro Carranque and Llano de la Virgen, which has been designated a Bien de Interés Cultural (Property of Cultural Interest).
Another archaeological site, Cerro del Aljibe, furnishes proof of the passage of the Greeks, Phoenicians, Iberians and Romans through this area, and burial sites from the Visigothic era have been found at Cerro de las Calaveras. All this indicates that the municipality of Coín has been inhabited continuously since very remote times to the present day.
The actual foundation of Coin was during the Muslim era, however. According to the chronicler of Abderramán III, the former Roman settlement was fortified in the year 920 by a high-ranking personage from Cordoba named Dakwan (Coín). Dakwan would play a very important role in the campaigns of Abderramán III against the Muladí rebel Omar Ben Hafsun until 928, the year of the fall of Bobastro, Omar Ben Hafsun’s general headquarters.
Three centuries later the Moroccan historian Ibn Adhari referred to Coín as Castro Dakwan (Fortress Dakwan), which has given rise to conjecture that the origin of the city’s name is Roman or at least Mozaribic, especially considering the existence of a Mozarabic cave basilica near the village, which indicates the existence of a Mozarabic community that predated the arrival of the army of Abderramán III.
During the Muslim period agriculture was especially
developed in this municipality and, as in other localities in Andalusia, some
of the irrigation infrastructure is still preserved. In about 1480 it was
a medium-sized Nazarite Kingdom city, with some 3,000 residents. It should
be kept in mind that in that period Malaga had some
20,000 souls and Granada about 50,000.
The city fell into the hands of the Christian troops in 1485, a fact that
is reflected in the dressed stonework of the Toledo cathedral choir room.
The Catholic King immediately afterward ordered the demolition of the fortress
because due to its size it was too costly to maintain a garrison in it sufficient
for its defence. Two years after the Conquest the place was repopulated and
the lands distributed, and from the beginning of the sixteenth century the
village showed a constant increase in population. It is the opinion of some
writers that Coin had the honour of receiving a visit in 1594 by Miguel de
Cervantes when, the great writer had a job as tax collector for the Crown.
There were 700 orchards and market gardens in 1773, in which all kinds of fruits and vegetables were grown. The countryside produced wheat, maize, olive oil, barley, hemp, figs, honey, silk, etc. and also had 14 oil mills and 20 flour mills, in a time when the population was 1,800. Coin entered the modern age in the twentieth century with the opening of the railway (no longer in existence) that linked the locality with the city of Malaga (1913), and in 1930 Alfonso XIII granted it the status of Ciudad (City) and its Town Hall the right to the appellation of “Excellent”.
Fiestas
In Coin May has an unmistakeably festive flavour. As soon as the month begins
the Día de la Naranja (Day of the Orange) is held. This is a celebration
of one of the citrus products that for its quality has brought the greatest
fame to this municipality. The fiesta does not live by oranges alone, however,
and the day is a showcase of local and regional products and branches out
into tremendously popular entertainment events. The Día de Cruz (Cross
Day) is also celebrated in this month (3 May), with the decoration of the
village streets, the installation of the traditional “May crosses”
and the Cristo del Perdón y de la Vera Cruz (Christ of the Pardon and
of the True Cross) procession.
One of this area’s most popular pilgrimages
is held in the first week of June, that of the Virgen de la Fuensanta, patron
saint of Coin. The diminutive size of this Virgin (11 centimetres) is in inverse
proportion to the devotion that she inspires, which is enormous. The saint
is carried to her hermitage a month beforehand. The villagers, many of them
on floats or horseback, arrive on Saturday to spend the night there and return
the next day to the San Juan church with the Virgin installed on the float
that has won the prize during the earlier competition.
Toward the end of July the local Town Hall organises the Festival de Bailes
Populares (Popular Dance Festival) on the Alameda. Every year local groups
and others from different countries participate, so it is guaranteed to be
colourful, with a variety of sounds and rhythms. Between the last part of
July and the first of August, Coín kicks off its Festival de Cante
Flamenco (Flamenco Song Festival), with performances by the best representatives
of this typical Andalucian art form.
King Carlos III in 1765 granted to the royal burgh of Coin “the privilege to holding a four day fair, counting from 10 to 14 August”. The monarch was referring to an agricultural fair for the purpose of promoting the economy of the village, but today that function only appears in the archives of history, since this municipality’s fair follows the same pattern as that of any locality in Andalusia: fun and frolic, singing, dancing, horses and good food washed down with one’s favourite wine.
In Coin the fondness for horses manifests itself
in full force during the Concentración Caballista (Horse Show, 27 October).
The day is spent, parading the highly decorated horses through the village
streets, and a later gathering at the fairgrounds where horsemen and non-horsemen
alike sample the traditional local products.
Coin’s Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most deeply rooted in
tradition in the province of Malaga, and even has
a live enactment of the Passion, but the regrettable events of 1936 delivered
a blow to this secular tradition that it would not fully overcome until the
1990’s. At the present time the Semana de Pasión (Week of Passion)
begins on Palm Sunday with the Pollinica (entry of Jesus into Jerusalem).
On Holy Thursday Jesús Nazareno (Jesus of Nazareth, a figure from the
eighteenth century by an anonymous artist) and the Virgen de los Dolores (Virgin
of Sorrows, also a figure from the eighteenth century and likewise by an anonymous
artist) are carried through the streets. On Good Friday the Cristo Cucificado
(Crucified Christ), the Sepulcro (the Sepulcher) and the Virgen de los Dolores
(Virgin of Sorrows) are borne in a procession, and the Coín processions
are concluded with that of El Resucitado (the Resurrected Christ) on Resurrection
Sunday.
Food
Sopa cachorreña (a soup made with bitter oranges), cocido
or puchero (stews) in their different forms, gazpachuelo (a cold soup), sopa
de pimiento y tomate (pepper and tomato soup), mojete (a spiced potato dish)
and the various potajes (stews) are the most traditional dishes in Coín,
with gazpacho (a cold soup), of course, as in any other place in Andalusia.
Batatas al horno (baked sweet potatoes), gachas con arrope (a dish made from
fried crumbs and grape syrup, in this case), rosquillas (spiral pastries),
pasas en aguardiente (raisins in raw brandy) and pan de higo (fig bread) are
the best examples of this municipality’s confectionery.
How to get there:
There are four routes to Coin from the Costa
del Sol, but the one that is used the most leaves the city of Malaga
by A-357 in the direction of Campillos. You will
first come to Cartama, and at a very short distance
from that village must take the A-355, which leads straight to Coin. You can
likewise get to this locality by the N-340. Almost equidistant between Torremolinos
and Malaga is the very well marked exit for the
A-366, which first passes through Churriana, Alhaurin
de la Torre, and Alhaurin el Grande
before getting to Coin.
The other two access routes start at the Mediterranean Expressway (N-340).
One of them is by the A-368 exit a few kilometres from Benalmadena;
you must first go Mijas and later take the A-387
to Alhaurin el Grande, where you
can connect with the A-366, which leads to Coín. From Fuengirola
(another of the access points) you must take the A-387 to Mijas,
and from there follow the same route as previously explained.
Tourist information:
Town Hall, Plaza Alameda, 10 (29100). Telephone: 952 453 018; Fax: 952 453
284. Tourist Office, Plaza de Santa María (La Encarnación convent).
Telephone: 952 453 211; Fax: 952 453 211
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