Motril, Province of Granada, Andalusia, Spain

History | Sugar cane refineries | Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza (Alcoholera) | Religious buildings | Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza | Agriculture | Economy : Industry | Culture | Holy Week | Cuisine | Leisure | Beaches | Transport

🇪🇸 Motril is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the province of Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and 69 km from Granada. The council of Motril includes the city of Motril and the neighbourhoods of El Varadero, Carchuna, Calahonda, Puntalón, Playa Granada, Las Ventillas, La Perla, La Garnatilla and La Chucha. The town is the capital of the region of the Coast of Granada.

History Although its origin still remains unclear, it was a Phoenician enclave. It already existed in Roman times. When the Christians conquered Motril, there were 2,000 inhabitants whose main activities were agriculture, fishing and the production of silk and sugar. The city centre size was around 3.5 km (2.2 mi). Outside the city there were two suburbs: Al-Majon suburb and al-Couruch suburb and a neighborhood called Jandara.

There was a Morisco uprising in 1569 that finished in 1570 with the Christians' victory. This caused a recession in sugar production, which finished 5 years later with the repopulation of old Christians.

By the end of the 1600s, Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza church was built.

Sugar cane was the main crop, which was later processed in the sugar refineries. The most important of these was "La Casa de la Palma". Now it's the place where the "Museo Preindustrial de la Caña de Azúcar" or Sugar Cane Museum is found.

In 1657, Philip IV granted Motril the title of city, separating its jurisdiction from Granada.

At the beginning of the next century, Philip V distinguished Motril as "Muy Noble y Leal" (Very Noble and Loyal), a motto show on the current Motril's shield.

After the War of Independence, in which Motril was occupied by French troops, the city started a new expansion of sugarcane and the sugar industry.

In the 19th century, Motril participated in a singular event, it was proclaimed Independent Canton from July 22 to 25, 1873. In a few years, due to the increase in the number of sugar refineries, it went to the first position in the Granada industrial ranking. It opened to the public on the most traditional ride in the city, "Las Explanadas", in the mid-19th century.

Sugar cane refineries Motril is synonymous with sugar and sugar cane. The process from sugar cane transformation into various types of sugar, even liquors like the cherished rum of Motril, has always been the basis of the local economy. Sugar refineries were for many years the "future" of the city. Now they are one of Motril's legacies.

Sugar cane refineries in Motril are • Nuestra Señora del Pilar. • Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. • Azucarera de San Luis. • Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. • Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza (Alcoholera). • Nuestra Señora de las Angustias (Fabriquilla). • Azucarera de San Fernando (sólo queda la chimenea). • Ingenio de San José, El Varadero (sólo queda una nave).

Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza (Alcoholera) This refinery is located next to the public swimming pool and the Parque de las Américas. It was founded by the Larios family in 1885, a family which founded a company based on the production of sugar and alcohol. At present, the company makes gin.

History In the past, many people lived thanks to the work of the refineries due to the sugar cane. Due to the low salaries, later, the workers burned the refinery. The sugar refinery will not be destroyed, as the Town Hall wanted, because it has been declared of historic heritage by the Andalusian Government. Also the chimney, store, distillery and the terrain are protected.

Nuestra Señora de las Angustias (La Fabriquilla) Leaving Motril, towards Puntalón and La Garnatilla we find the sugar refinery of Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, dated 1868 and from which are restored some premises now intended for municipal usage, highlighting the magnificent "Nave de los Arcos". Juan Ramón La Chica owned two refineries called "Nuestra Señora de las Angustias", but one of them was in Granada and the other one in Motril. He gained full ownership over this last one in 1874. He also owned another sugar cane refinery called "Nuestra Señora del Carmen" in Pinos Puente (Granada).

Religious buildings • Iglesia Mayor de la Encarnación. • Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza (conocido como "El Cerro de la Virgen") • Iglesia de la Divina Pastora (Capuchinos). • Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Victoria. • Ermita de la Virgen del Carmen. • Iglesia del Convento de las Nazarenas. • Ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias. • Ermita de San Antonio de Padua. • Ermita de San Nicolás. • Ermita del Señor de Junes. • Capilla del Santo Rosario

Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza This church is one of the most important and emblematic monuments in Motril. It is on a hill called Virgin's Hill. The church was built on the ruins of a nazari (Nasrid) fortress in the 17th century by the architect Isidro de la Chica. The building was damaged during the Civil War in the 20th century and it was restored by the sculptor Manuel Gonzales, a sculptor from Motril, in the 1960s. Inside the church is the patron saint of Motril, the Virgen de la Cabeza. Nowadays, the church is next to the Parque de los Pueblos de América and the first fountain built in Motril where there is a big Spanish flag.

Agriculture Situated in the south coast of Andalusia, Motril and the villages of its the municipality: Carchuna, Calahonda, Castel de Ferro has main crops like avocado, custard apple, guava, mango and banana; potato; beans and peas; as well as greenhouse cultivation of tomatoes and cucumbers.

Economy: Industry Its geographical position makes it a commercial and industrial centre. One of the most important industries in Motril, beside greenhouse agriculture, is the paper mill that gives 400 jobs and produces around 250 tons of paper per year. "The Port of Motril" is a commercial and fishing port.

Culture Motril's theater, named Teatro Calderón de la Barca, organises many shows such as plays, exhibitions,concerts and monologues; and there is a local orchestra, the "Joven Orquesta Ciudad de Motril". In Motril, there is a strong music development. Young people study several instruments at the professional conservatory and there is a local music school too. You can also find many small music bands created by Motrilians.

Flamenco is also performed here in dance academies and exhibitions along the whole year, specially in the Cruces. Flamenco is the most characteristic dance style but other style are also practised, like ballet.

Youth Area proposes many activities organised by local associations to contribute to the city's leisure like video games tournaments, crafts workshops and once a year, an event called Encuentro Joven where young people and children meet and these association prepares games to pass a journey all together and meet new people. This area has a centre called the Centro Joven where expositions of young local artists draws are passed so it helps to get to know their work.

Holy Week The Holy week in Motril has been declared National Tourist Interest, It consist of 12 brotherhood, 23 pasos and more than 6000 followers. There are processions every day. The Holy week in Motril started in 1600 with the eldest brotherhood, called Vera Cruz. After the civil war every brotherhood had to restore its patrimony.

Almost all the statues in Motril are made by some artists from the province of Granada. The most interesting processions are: -The starting procession is on Palm Sunday. In this procession we can see two different pasos, it is so interesting because there is a lot of people that accompany it with palm.

-On Easter Sunday there is a procession called Dulce Nombre de Jesus, it is really special. It consists on a group of children carrying the statue. It is accompanied by a lot of little children carrying bells.

Nowadays, the members of the brotherhood accompany the image with special clothes that cover their face.

In Spain there is a tradition of not to eat meat on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday. Each city has their own stew. The typical menu in Motril is the stew made with chickpeas and cod, the cod with tomato, and some cod omelette. Also, there are different desserts like rice pudding, torrija… In these days it's common meeting the family.

Cuisine The most popular dish from Motril is migas (crumbs), made of bread. Fish is also very popular in Motril, due to the town's important fisheries. The most popular fish are anchovy (locally named boquerón), sardines and shrimp. The most famous drink, exclusive to the area, is ron pálido which is a locally produced rum.

Leisure Motril is a growing dynamic city, a place of service where visitors feel at home, thanks to the great hospitality of its people. You can visit many places to have fun and meet new people, for example: -Paseo de las explanadas: pubs normally open from 4 pm until 4 am.

-Parque de los Pueblos de América: The main feature of this park is great variety of tropical flora to be found in it.

Beaches Motril is within the Costa Tropical, a large tourist region on the coast. Motril has small beaches (bays) and large beaches (like Playa Granada). They are popular during the summer with people from the surrounding as well as the interior regions. The main problems are the wind and the jellyfish.

Beaches in the area include Playa de Poniente (a large gravel/shingle beach), Playa Granada (shingles), Playa Carchuna (gravel and pebbles), and Playa Calahonda (gravel). Many of the area's beaches include car parking facilities, first aid stands, showers, beach cleaning, bars and restaurants, typical beach facilities (such as beach umbrellas and hammocks) and S.O.S. telephones.

Transport Motril is served by autovías A-7 to Málaga and Almería, and A-44 to Granada. The Port of Motril offers ferries to Melilla, Nador, Tanger-Med, and Al-Hoceima and shipped 2.8 million tonnes of cargo in 2019. Motril is the only Spanish Mediterranean port that lacks a rail service; building a line which would take 25 minutes to travel to Granada railway station was estimated to cost €400 million in 2017. The link to Granada was rejected in 2010 by the Ministry of Development on the basis of being unsuitable for freight railway transport due to the steep slope. From 1925 to 1950, Motril was connected to Granada by means of a cable way that spanned from Motril to Dúrcal.

Europe/Madrid/Granada 
<b>Europe/Madrid/Granada</b>
Image: Adobe Stock marcin jucha #141044994

Motril has a population of over 60,368 people. Motril also forms the centre of the wider Costa Granadina Comarca which has a population of over 125,449 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Motril see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities include:

🇪🇭 Agounit, Western Sahara 🇦🇷 Albardón, Argentina 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Marple, England 🇪🇸 Melilla, Spain 🇧🇬 Smolyan, Bulgaria
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Motril is: 176.483,-36.75

Locations Near: Motril -3.51667,36.75

🇪🇸 Granada -3.6,37.167 d: 46.9  

🇪🇸 Vélez-Málaga -4.1,36.778 d: 52.1  

🇪🇸 El Ejido -2.817,36.767 d: 62.4  

🇪🇸 Málaga -4.429,36.722 d: 81.4  

🇪🇸 Roquetas de Mar -2.6,36.75 d: 81.7  

🇪🇸 Torremolinos -4.496,36.618 d: 88.6  

🇪🇸 Jaén -3.771,37.767 d: 115.3  

🇪🇸 Almería -2.464,36.842 d: 94.3  

🇪🇸 Benalmádena -4.573,36.595 d: 95.8  

🇪🇸 Antequera -4.563,37.019 d: 97.8  

Antipodal to: Motril 176.483,-36.75

🇳🇿 Tauranga 176.154,-37.7 d: 19905.6  

🇳🇿 Rotorua 176.25,-38.133 d: 19859.9  

🇳🇿 Cambridge 175.467,-37.883 d: 19860.3  

🇳🇿 Hamilton 175.28,-37.788 d: 19858  

🇳🇿 Auckland 174.763,-36.853 d: 19861.5  

🇳🇿 North Shore City 174.75,-36.8 d: 19860.6  

🇳🇿 Hibiscus Coast 174.698,-36.606 d: 19855.1  

🇳🇿 Taupō 176.072,-38.687 d: 19796.7  

🇳🇿 Whangārei 174.326,-35.725 d: 19790.5  

🇳🇿 Gisborne 178.016,-38.659 d: 19763.6  

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