History
According to historical archives, the remains found in the Caves del Moro, de la Higuerilla, and de la Paloma indicate that the earliest settlements recognised in the area were megalithic. The remains of a Roman villa from the 1st century were discovered during the construction of a warehouse on the El Laurel industrial estate. These remains included a stately area with several tiled rooms, another rustic area with an oil mill, a flour mill, and an oven, and at least one burial site.
The most important discoveries relate to the villa's Roman origins. Few archaeological references from before this time have survived, as the town centre was built on the remains of the Roman settlement. An example of this civilisation is a Roman altar with a Latin inscription, although it has been erased since the stone was reused as a base to erect the Cross of San Antón in the 17th century, on the street of the same name.
The Arab past is the one that has left the greatest number of remains in the town. The name La Zubia comes from the ancient Arabic word al-Zawiya, Sawiyat, or Zauya, which means ‘hermitage’ or ‘retreat’. This is because La Zubia, at the entrance area of the Natural Park of Sierra Nevada, became a place of recognition and prayer for the Arabs of the Kingdom of Granada.
There are still Arab baths in La Zubia from the 12th and 13th centuries, in the building known as Casa del Miedo (House of Fear). These consist of two vaulted rooms with octagonal skylights corresponding to the tepidarium (warm chamber) and the caldaria (hot bath room). The largest area of Arab heritage corresponds to the double network of irrigation ditches, such as the Acequia del Genital and the Acequia Gorda or Acequia de La Zubia. In addition to the irrigation ditches themselves, there are remains of the annexed infrastructure that they generated, such as the three Arab arches crossing the Barranquillo de la Negra – one of the seven such arches crossing the town like small aqueducts.
Numerous cisterns that once appeared in the town's streets are preserved, such as the one in the Hondillo neighbourhood, which is now private property. The Alberca Grande (16th century) in La Zubia’s town centre is a permanent water reservoir. There were also hemp cooking pools throughout the town’s plain. These pools are a testament to the hemp crop that produced up to 10,000 arrobas (110,000kg) in a single year. A triumphal arch built from hemp is a graphic testimony to its cultivation and was erected on the occasion of Queen Isabel II’s visit to La Zubia in 1862
In the last hundred years, there have been numerous changes, such as the disappearance of the tram in 1971 and an espadrille factory; as well as the creation of the Alpujarreña factory, which produced remarkable tapestries and carpets.
La Zubia is a municipality that stands out for possibly having the largest number of elite athletes in Spain, with the greatest successes achieved in athletics, cycling, martial arts, table tennis, and speed skating.