Marbella History and Culture


Marbella Arch

The city of Marbella is Situated on the western coast of the Costa del Sol. Marbella is the Spanish answer to St Tropez. This elegant holiday resort is a favourite holiday destination for the rich and famous. With a varied assortment of top class restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts it's easy to understand why this holiday destination has been the number one choice for over 4 decades. And even though the city has changed through the years it has never forgotten it's Spanish culture, and the wonderfully picturesque neighbourhoods can still be found and enjoyed, sitting alongside the modern, fashionable shops that line the streets of Marbella.



Marbella Archaeological Site

Even though Marbella maybe a very well known and popular location to visit, there are many other areas that well worth the trip. The traditional 'white' villages of Mijas, Coin, Ronda, Monda and Ojen are just a short drive away, or you might like to dine in style in the mountains of Benahavis. Alternatively you may want to sample the overseas Anglo-Hispanic culture that is Gibraltar, only about 30mins drive from Marbella. With golf courses and beaches galore, it won't be finding somewhere to visit but choosing somewhere to visit that will be the problem.

Historical Marbella


The mountains around Marbella have hosted many archaeological digs in recent years, which have unearthed evidence concerning human habitation in both the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. Remains of ancient civilisations such as the Phoenician and Carthaginensian have also been found in the area surround the Rio Real. Throughout the Roman occupation of parts of the Spain the city of Marbella was called Salduba.


In the height of Islamic rule, the Muslims fortified their position in Marbella, or Marbil-la as it was called by its Muslim inhabitants, by building a great castle surrounded by strong stone walls. The city was reconquered by the Spanish during 1485 during the reign of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, and this truly marked the start of the cities growth to what we now know as Marbella.



Marbella Castle

Even though Marbella had begun to grow since the 15th century up until the 1940's it was still a small village with only 900 inhabitants. This was all about to change however, when while experiencing trouble with his Rolls-Royce, Prince Max Egon zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his son and heir Alfonso Hohenlohe, first found their ways to the sleepy coastal town. Upon stumbling on this beautiful area Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg bought substantial amounts of the surrounding land and began to market it as a tourist destination. During 1954 Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg finished construction on the Hotel Marbella Club, and opened it to the nobles of Europe. The hotel appealed to those who visited because of its difference to most European hotels at the time. The cold hard exterior of a towering structure had been set aside, instead the Prince had constructed more of a resort, with small low houses, set amongst trees and gardens worthy of any royal court. This coupled with his powers of persuasion, soon many noble European families moved to Marbella to enjoy this new found Utopia. One such person to take advantage of such an opportunity was Spanish socialite and brother of Queen Fabiola, Jaime de Mora y Aragón.


1974 was an important year in the growth history of Marbella. It was when Prince Fahd, soon to be King of Saudi Arabia, first came to the Costa del Sol and settled in Marbella. Until his passing in August 2005, Prince Fahd made countless visits to Marbella and was greeted warmly when he did. With a travelling entourage of thousands spending extortionate amounts of petrodollars its not difficult to understand why.


Despite Marbella's obvious charms, and the continued visitation of the jet set during the 1980's notably Gunilla von Bismarck to name but one, its history has not always been without trouble. In 1987 Marbella went through a very dark time indeed, when Melody Nakachian, daughter of a weapons smuggler, together with Korean princess and singer Kimera were kidnapped, thrusting the city into the worlds spotlight for all the wrong reasons.



Marbella Town Hall

Jesús Gil y Gil, founder and president of Atlético Madrid, was elected to the office of Mayor of Marbella as a representative of the Independent Liberal Group (Gil in Spanish), with promises of stopping petty crime and rejuvenating the dwindling reputation of the region. On several occasions Sean Connery had been persuaded to stand as an international spokesman for the city, however, when Mr Cannery's image was used by Gil for the purposes of his electoral campaign, this relationship was drawn to a close.


Over the following years of Gil's term in office, the town hall oversaw several experimental building projects. Critics and other environmental organisations were quick to point out that these developments were being carried out with no regard for the existing areas, and so with little choice the Andalucian government stepped in and stop these new plans. Gil did not act as a traditional man in office, he held little desire for the works of a town hall and thus did not spend a great amount of time there, instead many of his political work was undertaken at the Club Financiero. This obviously did not please opposition parties such as PSOE or the People's Party, However there was little they could do as the voters confidence in Gil did not waver. And the hot shot celebrities continued to spend time in the city.



Plaza de los Naranjos

This was indeed a dark time for Marbella. Investigations of corruption began, and by 2002, Jesús Gil had no other choice but to resign from office when evidence of him diverting public funds for Atlético. His successor Julián Muñoz, a former waiter, however with over 100 cases of corruption hanging over the administration it was not long until Muñoz himself was dragged into the problems. Muñoz and Gil were constantly blaming each other for the robbing of public funds, none more publicly than during a television debate. At the time Marisol Yagüe, a former party secretary was elected to replace Muñoz after the fingers started pointing.


This choice may not have been the best for the city of Marbella because in March 2006 Yagüe was also jailed when the cities financial situation had gotten to the point of near bankruptcy, all of which, if the rumours are true, was initiated and controlled by Antonio Roca, a councilman and failed private business man. This left an opening that was filled by Tomás Reñones, a former Atlético Madrid player. However this new appointment was also short lived when Reñones himself was also jailed, and on April 8, 2006, the Spanish government decided to suspend the Marbella city council from any further actions. This is the first time action like this has ever had to be taken in Spanish democratic history.

Sights and Sounds in Marbella

Suburbs of Marbella

San Pedro de Alcántara
Puerto Banus
El Rosario
Cabopino
Las Chapas
Elviria

Info on Marbella Welcome and Enjoy