Adra

ADRA

As well as sun, beaches and various water sports, Adra offers its visitors a rich cultural and artistic heritage based on its extensive past. The town has around 24, 900 inhabitants.

HISTORY

Adra was founded by the Phoenicians during the eighth century BC, however, according to archaeological remains found on the Montecristo hill, a site classified as being of important cultural significance, the area has a Punic past. Punic control of the colony is thought to have been established from the fourth century BC, and at the end of the second century BC it passed to the control of the Roman Empire in the province of Hispania Ulterior. Evidence suggests that the Roman presence in Adra persisted for three centuries. More>

 

 

THINGS TO SEE

Centro de Interpretación de la Pesca
A tour of the Fishery Interpretation Centre begins in the 3D audiovisual projection room, where visitors learn about Adra’s fishing history. The exhibition also explains the lively processes associated with the fish market and canneries, as well as the role of fish in local cuisine and traditions. The centre is located on Carrera de Natalio Rivas.

Opening Times:
Monday - Saturday, 09:00-14:00hrs
Tel: 950 56 08 26

Ermita de San Sebastián
The Chapel of San Sebastián was built in 1680 and rebuilt in 1751. Inside, there are important Roman remains belonging to salting factories, as well as numerous funereal tombstones with Latin inscriptions which were documented in an archaeological excavation; these suggest that the Roman cemetery of Adra may have been located in the vicinity of the hermitage. The site can be found on Plaza de San Sebastián.

Iglesia Parroquial de la Inmaculada Concepción
This church once doubled as a fortress, as shown by its exterior walls which are dotted with arrow slits. It was built during the sixteenth century. Inside, an interesting Baroque carving of the Christ of the Expiration has been preserved, dating from 1623. The church is on Calle de la Iglesia.

Molino del Lugar
The original mill was owned by Maria Teresa Gnecco Costa in 1752. A decade later, it suffered the effects of a flood and, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, a second flood destroyed it altogether. Agustín Moreno Beltrán-Serraso, and his wife, Manuela del Trell Gnecco, decided to build the current mill to protect against flooding. Construction began in 1814, but was complicated by a judicial conflict with Don Pedro Ángel del Trell. In 1815, he sued his sister in order to recognize that both the ditch and the arch, through which the waters that fed the mill flowed, had been built on land owned by him. Finally, in 1817, they reached an amicable agreement and Don Pedro Ángel allowed the water to pass to the newly built mill. It can be found on Calle Molino del Lugar.

Opening Times:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-14:00hrs
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-14:00hrs
Price: €1.00
Tel: 950 56 08 26

Museo de Adra
The museum has six exhibition halls with numerous vestiges, a workshop for school activities, conference rooms and a research area. From its patio, visitors can access the archaeological site of Cerro de Montecristo. Three of the exhibition halls show the cultural legacy of the Phoenician, Punic and Roman eras. Prestigious temporary exhibitions are also hosted in the museum throughout the year. El Molino del Lugar houses the ethnographic section of this museum, which is located on Plaza de San Sebastián.

Opening Time:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-14:00hrs
Saturday, 10:00-14:00hrs
Price: 1 euro
Tel: 950 40 35 46

Recinto Amurallado
This walled enclosure was commissioned by Queen Juana in 1505, but took several decades to complete. It was part of the control and defense policy of the coast of the Kingdom of Granada led by the Catholic Monarchs. Its function was to defend the coast as the new Christian frontier, after the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada. It was populated by bringing people from inland to the coast and encouraging old Christians to settle there with a series of tax privileges. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Adra was subject to piracy from Turks and Berbers, and resisted several attacks thanks to the protection of these walls. The site was declared to be of Cultural Interest in the Monument category, and was restored by the Cultural Department of the Regional Government of Andalusia in 2008. It is located on Calle Natalio Rivas.

Refugios Antiaéreos de la Guerra Civil
From July 18, 1936, the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, until the end of March 1939, Adra was in the area controlled by the Popular Front. Initially, it was a rearguard zone, away from the fronts, but this did not prevent the town being affected by battle. The fall of Malaga on February 8, 1937, and most of the Granada coast, placed the front line just 38kms from Adra, which suffered an aerial bombardment that caused numerous deaths. This tragic event resulted in the construction of numerous air raid shelters throughout the urban core, which can be visited today on Calle Natalio Rivas.

Torre de la Vela
Over time, the buildup of sediments from the river pushed the seashore away from the town’s defensive wall, which in 1833 was declared useless by the government, since it was too far away from the water for the canons’ range to reach. In 1853, its demolition was authorized, leaving the Torre de la Vela tower behind as the only trace. Its last function was as a prison and, finally, as a source of building materials. It is located on Calle Natalio Rivas.

Torre de los Perdigones
This tower belongs to the previous San Andrés lead smelter. It was in use from 1822 to 1840, when the Sierra de Gádor lead mines ran out, making the tower obsolete. Its production gradually slowed down until it came to a complete stop at the beginning of the twentieth century. Located on Calle Natalio Rivas.

Opening Times:
Monday - Saturday, 10:00-14:00hrs.
Price: 1 euro
Tel: 950 56 08 26

Torre de Guainos
This watchtower was once critical to the defense plan of the coast of the Kingdom of Granada, and is today considered a strong representation of the Nasrid-Castilian defensive system. It is visually associated with the Alhamilla tower, and can be seen Calle Torre de Vigía.

Fábrica de fundición de plomo San Andrés
From 1820, the Sierra de Gádor underwent extensive exploitation of its rich lead deposits. The most important industries were concentrated in Adra, which was the embarkation point for metal destined for the European market. In 1822, the Rein y Cía House built a pioneer foundry in Adra featuring English ovens fed with coal, and in 1827, the second steam engine was installed in Spain. In this factory, the first lead smelter of the Peninsula, pellets, plates and tubes were made. It can be visited today on Calle Fundición.

THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE

Fábrica Azucarera
This factory is the last vestige of the cultivation and transformation of sugarcane in the Vega de Abderitana. Whilst the factory is no longer of economic necessity for the town, it has been restored for its conservation and for the educational use of the public. The sugar industry was once very important for Adra, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In 1909, the Azucarera de Adra company was established, and it began operating in 1910; but the change that was gradually brewing in the agricultural sector and the fall in sugarcane prices caused a decrease in sugar production. In 1972, the last sugar factory closed its doors definitively. The machinery and equipment of this factory were transferred to a sugar factory in Badajoz. The deterioration of the buildings in the 1970s and 80s was so extreme that, in January 1986, the roof of the central nave collapsed. On August 11, 2003, the project of the “José Oliva IV” Workshop School was initiated, with the approval of the Adra Municipal Corporation, to restore and rehabilitate the Alcoholera of the former Sugar Company of Adra S.A. as a business center. The restoration of the Adra sugar and alcohol factory is an excellent example of the conservation and repurposing of industrial architecture; it currently houses the municipal business incubator in which a brandy winery is located, and the garden of Mediterranean cultures. The site is east of Adra, off the N-340a.

HOTELS

Since Adra is only a small coastal fishing village, hotels are scarce. There is a guesthouse just outside the town which provides visitors with a comfortable place to stay (shown below), however, there is a shortage of hotels in the town itself. Nearby towns such as Berja (13km), La Rábita (14km) and El Ejido (18km) provide an array of hotels and accommodation very close by.

Accommodation in Adra

Book accommodation to rent in Adra

Adra

Cabañas Junto Al Mar

Set in Adra, 22 km from Almerimar, Cabañas Junto Al Mar offers a garden and free WiFi.

The units provide views of the garden and come with a seating area, a washing machine, a fully equipped kitchen with a fridge, and a private bathroom with a hairdryer. A patio with sea views is offered in each unit.

BEACHES

Nature lovers can enjoy a variety of beaches and coves spread along 20kms of coast, as well as the Nature Reserve of La Albufera on the Adra River, where visitors can see a huge array of aquatic birds, including ospreys and kingfishers, as it is a popular stopover point during their migration to and from Africa. Hiking fans can choose from a wide selection of routes along the coast as well as around the Adra riverbed and through the forests of the area. Playa de la Rana is officially recognized as a dog beach.

MARINA

The Marina in Adra has magnificent views of the Almerian Alpujarra.

GASTRONOMY

Those who wish to try the best of Adra’s gastronomy should order dishes like the so-called special fideos (noodles), olla fresca (soup), migas (fried bread with pork) and other seafood dishes, as well as leche frita (fried custard), buñuelos (fried dough balls) and aniseed doughnuts.

FESTIVALS

Party-goers and visitors who wish to see the traditional celebrations of this town should come for the festivities of San Marcos, San Sebastián, San Juan, Virgen del Carmen and for the big Feria and Fiestas which are celebrated at the beginning of September href=" /province/almeria/adra/festivals ">More>

NEARBY PLACES

The neighbouring villages to Adra are El Ejido and Calahonda.

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