History of Churriana de la Vega
The first written historical sources to explicitly mention Churriana date from the Middle Ages, when the area was dedicated to intensive agricultural production and a thriving silk industry. Evidence of Churriana's Hispano-Muslim cultural heritage is still evident today in the form of an Arab bath, or hammam, located next to the town’s main irrigation channel, the Arabuleila.
Towards the end of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, preliminary negotiations took place in Churriana de la Vega between Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, representing the Catholic Monarchs, and Boabdil’s representatives. The terms of Granada’s surrender to Santa Fe were delivered.
The fall of the Nasrid Kingdom marked the beginning of a period of decline for Granada and its people. The population of Churriana was predominantly Moorish, as was much of the Kingdom of Granada. Although it experienced a period of peaceful development in the years following the Conquest of Granada, the population would be drastically reduced by the Moorish Revolt in the second half of the sixteenth century. After this decline in population, Churriana was repopulated by 100 families of Old Christians from various regions (Córdoba, Extremadura, Castile, Asturias, Murcia and Biscay).
During the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, Churriana fell victim to the French and suffered the plundering of its livestock and agricultural produce.
Until the municipal nomenclature reform in 1916, the municipality was simply known as Churriana. It was then that its name was changed to Churriana de la Vega.