Árchez

Location

Axarquía – Costa del Sol

Click to enlarge images below:

Interesting Facts of Árchez

Surface Area: 5 square kilometres

Population: 437

What the natives are called: Archeros

Outstanding Sights: minaret-tower of the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación church

Geographical Location: in the central part of the La Axarquía region, 21 kilometres from Vélez Málaga and 435 metres above sea level. The average annual rainfall is 670 litres per square metre and the average temperature is 17º C.

The small area of the municipality of Árchez –only 5 square kilometres- confers an almost domestic character upon this territory that is reaffirmed by the landscape itself, which except for the nearby Tejeda and Almijara mountain ranges seems to shun the spectacular geographic features that are the norm in La Axarquía.

The valley of the River Árchez, which takes the name Algarrobo downstream, forms a landscape of level-topped heights with no great contrasts of elevation. Some hills near the river change into terraces that permit the cultivation of fruit and vegetables, in contrast to the classic native low scrubland vegetation –especially brooms– covering all the territory. Árchez lies, thus, in the bottom of a luxuriant valley filled with fruit trees that produce a comforting shadow in the summer. The fragrance coming from orange and lemon trees is quite intense and makes visitors feel like they were in a lovely garden.

The Tejeda and Almijara mountain ranges

This locality is included in the Moorish Route not only because it is a necessary step to the other villages that make up this route but also because it has one of the best examples of this kind of art in the province of Málaga: the minaret-tower of the La Encarnación church. It is strange, therefore, that along with such a significant monument there exists no documentation that would reveal the events that occurred in this village centuries ago.

Despite the lack of historical documentation the existence of a Moorish monument of the first magnitude predisposes one to believe that Árchez must have had a certain importance in the Muslim era, and considering its geographic setting it is also not hard to imagine the part that it may have played in the Moorish rebellion in the La Axarquía region.

It is considered certain that the village had its origin in a Moorish farm community, and it is indeed documented that it was conquered by Christian troops in 1487, along with the settlements around it. Árchez became a part of the lordly estates of Don Diego Fernández de Córdoba, a lordship that later passed into the hands of the Marquise of Comares.

Aside from this historical footnote, no other chronicle sheds light on the history of Árchez until in the nineteenth century it is written about the village, that at that time, "Looms, for white and blue linen, were operating (colours very popular with the Muslims, curiously enough), as were three distilleries, two flour mills and four oil mills," all of which indicates remarkable economic activity for a place that must never have had many inhabitants.
provide Árchez with an abundance of water that feeds into several tributary streams to increase the river’s flow, and after the rains several ponds remain that are often visited by people familiar with the place.

Road Directions

You can get to Árchez by the Mediterranean Expressway (A-7) from any point on the Costa del Sol. Near Vélez Málaga turn towards Algarrobo on the A-6203 and continue on to Sayalonga and immediately afterwards take the MA-115, which goes to Árchez.

Full graphical path: http://bit.ly/nHsgTI

Tourist Info

Árchez
Ayuntamiento, C/ Clara Campoamor
Árchez
Málaga
29753

Tel: +34 952 55 31 59

Fax: +34 952 55 30 19

Send an email

Website:

Informacion

Socios

What to See in Árchez

The tower or minaret of the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación church stands alone as the monument par excellence of Árchez. It is a structure of excellent workmanship from the fifteenth century and is magnificently preserved. It was declared a national monument in 1979. It is square in cross section (3.64 metres per side) and measures 15 metres high. On its exterior, one can admire how the straight and curved lines of the brickwork interlink and form a sort of lace pattern of remarkably elegant composition. Its four sides likewise preserve a reddish ceramic border.

It is a curious fact that each of this tower’s two bells has its own name: one of them is called Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the other María de la Encarnación. On the latter, the following inscription can be read: "Don Ramón Rivas made me; the parish priest was Don Ildefonso Tomé y García and the mayor was Don Antonio García Azuaga. In the year 1876." There is a legend as well: on an information board in Plaza Mudéjar and beneath the minaret this paragraph has been written: "According to tradition, when this bell was made, a wall lizard fell down and got buried in the bell. Consequently, every one who is of age to marry can climb up the tower, touch the lizard and will for sure find someone to love within a year...."

The church of which this minaret is the bell tower was built later, also in the Moorish style. It consists of a single nave whose roof is formed by a frame with beams. The church was built over the site of a former mosque-something that was almost obvious in that era-and is extraordinarily simple, following the architectural pattern of Christian churches in the La Axarquía region. The interior of the church is home to a figure of the Virgen de Monserrat, also known in Catalonia as "La Moreneta."

The three old flourmills that operated in the village years ago, those of Doña Fidela, Reusto and Castrán, hold a certain interest, especially the first for the legend that surrounds it. It is said that shortly after its owner, Doña Fidela, sold it to a neighbour that the latter was restoring and doing repairs to it and had to move a rock in the river. Here he found a clay pot full of gold and silver coins. The Molino de Doña Fidela stands near the village, and is accommodates a community of craftsmen who have rehabilitated a part of the structure. They even changed the name of the place, which is now called Molino Winkler. The mill of Don Matías, on the outskirts of town, on the way to the deep valley, is not easily accessed. On the way, visitors will find a channel system that reveal how good was the water management system developed by the Arabs in the past. The Molino de Don Matías is not in excellent condition, but its location and the rooms in it indicate it must have been quite outstanding.

Tourist Info

Árchez
Ayuntamiento, C/ Clara Campoamor
Árchez
Málaga
29753

Tel: +34 952 55 31 59

Fax: +34 952 55 30 19

Send an email

Website:

Informacion

Socios

Árchez’s Fiestas and Gastronomy

The municipality celebrates its first fiesta on 17 January, the day of San Antón. On the evening before there is a lively verbena (street party) and the next day the pilgrimage takes place. The people accompany the saint to the Corumela crossroads, where the livestock are blessed. After this traditional event, the Town Hall invites the citizens to a lunch on the River Turvilla promenade.

The Semana Santa (Holy Week) centres around the processions that are held on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. On the first day the images of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (Our Father Jesus of Nazareth) and Jesús Crucificado (the Crucified Christ) are carried, and on the second day it is the turn of the Virgen de los Dolores o de la Soledad (Virgin of the Sorrows, or of Solitude).

On Sunday Jesús Resucitado (the Resurrected Jesus), carried only by women, concludes the Semana Santa in Árchez.

Corpus Christi day

The fair in late July in honour of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación (Our Lady of the Incarnation) gets under way with the opening of the fairgrounds, and all the days dedicated to the patron saint are enlivened by the music of the Municipal Band. The traditional "corrida de cintas" (horseback "ribbon race"), is now even done on motorcycles.

Árchez’s Gastronomy

The natural products of the nearby fields appear in most of the traditional dishes of this locality, where the visitor can sample a delicious potaje de hinojos con arroz (fennel stew with rice), migas (a dish made from fried bread crumbs) generally accompanied by arenques (herring), ajoblanco (a chilled soup) and tortitas de bacalao con miel (codfish cakes with honey). Being a village in the Mudéjar Tour of Axarquía, Árchez offers modern recipes with a certain ancient flavour. Some restaurants serve dishes like cordero a la miel (lamb with honey), helado de chumbo o algarrobas (fig or carob bean ice-cream), el pollo al estilo mudéjar (chicken Mudéjar style), and so on. The food is a bit spicy, with an aftertaste of Mudéjar traditional cuisine, characterised by bittersweet sauces. In the church square, there is an information board describing the Mudéjar gastronomy, which has been one of Árchez’s assets since time immemorial.
has a celebration that has recently been added to the traditional Santísimo Sacramento (Holy Sacrament) procession: the so-called Noche Andaluza (Andalusian Night), for which cultural, sporting and folkloric activities are scheduled.