Marchal
by Saskia Mier
Dating back to the Middle Ages, Marchal originated from a Moorish-era farmstead. Local archaeological sites show that ancient civilisations settled in the area thousands of years ago. The village now has a population of roughly 400 people.
History
Marchal, known as “La Perla del Alhama” by the writer Carlos Asenjo, comes from the Arabic word, almarch, meaning plain or cultivated field. The name also appears in the 1504 distribution, as does Mármol in 1514. According to Barcia (General Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language, Madrid 1880-83), the term almarcha comes from the Arabic, al-mardj, meaning meadow, a name of Persian origin.
The town is situated at the foot of an ancient prehistoric necropolis used around the fifth century AD by communities of monks, who built it into a monastery. Within its municipal area, there are remains from the Roman period, although the municipality’s origin was a medieval farmstead from the period of Muslim domination. Due to its location near the road to Granada from Acci, as a transit area for Muslims to Almería, it suffered many wars for centuries until its conquest at the end of the fifteenth century.
In 1489, with the capitulation of the Kingdom of Zagal, the town passed to Castile. It became one of the places with the largest number of Moors and Morisco populations, as these lands along the Alhama River were granted to the Moriscos as common property. After the Morisco rebellion during the years 1568-70 and their subsequent defeat by King Juan de Austria (half-brother of King Felipe II), they were expelled to Castile, and the area was repopulated by Old Christians. Later, during the reign of Felipe IV, the town and its lands were sold to various noble families to cover the costs of the numerous wars of his reign.
In the survey of October 31, 1571, the Marchal del Río Alhama (as it was then named) had a new church with a bell tower and consisted of a population of 60 residents. It had two bakeries, three bread mills, and produced 40 ounces of silk. Its borders were not clearly defined, except that they extended from the Rambla de Algoraz, across the Rambla de Xiquena, and along the royal road to Los Baños, through Veas, Alares, and Purullena.
Things to see
Iglesia de Santa Catalina
Nestled within a large group of troglodytic structures is a late Roman or Visigothic church. It is a cave chapel located at the foot of a cliff, marked by a horseshoe arch separating it from the main area. On the left wall, there is a Latin cross approximately 30cm high, carved into the clay. The sides have various niches and an exterior door-like opening, currently walled up. The access door is only partially preserved and features a raised semicircular arch. It is located in Barrio Carabanchel.
Iglesia de Santa Catalina
There is no evidence of the existence of a mosque in Muslim times. In 1492, a Mudejar-style parish church was built, to which Purullena was added, by order of the Synod of Guadix. The Synod of Guadix stated that the churches of Marchal and Purullena were under their control, along with the farms named in 1554: Cúllar, Luchena, Canlar and Casa de Méndez. The aforementioned Synod ordered the construction of a church on the Luchena farm to serve the religious needs of its inhabitants. Between 1549 and 1555, the old church of Marchal was built. Ambrosio Villegas was in charge of the direction and execution of the work, and the sum of 35,379 maravedis was paid. The bricks were purchased in 1553 from Miguel Loayna. A year later, the church tower was built at a cost of 7,500 maravedis. The locksmithing was carried out by Blas Calderón. After the chapel was destroyed in a fire in 1943, a parish church was built on its ruins, with the Mass being held in a designated room in the Palacio de los Gallardo, until it was completed. The current church retains some Mudejar details. It has a basilica plan, and is covered overall with a simple barrel vault. It is located on Calle Rambla.
Palacio de los Gallardo
The Gallardo Palace sits atop a hill overlooking the valley. It is a stately pink house known as the “Casa Grande”, “Casa del Amo”, or “Casa Rosa”, built by architect Gustavo Gallardo in the early nineteenth century and used by him and his family, as a summer residence. The annexes were used by their day laborers, servants, landlord, and manager, first Don Francisco Marín, and later Don Padilla. There are indications that Italian architects were involved in its construction, as we can clearly see how it attempts to imitate the Renaissance castles of the Loire Valley, with its sloping roofs. The Gallardo family owned land and properties in the Marchal Estate, the Beas de Guadix Estate, the Purullena Estate, and the Narváez Estate. The complex features a circular viewing platform, offering stunning views of the town centre and most of the former estates. The land, as well as some houses and properties, were leased to town residents until the 1950s, when the properties were divided into subdivisions, becoming the property of the tenants through the Internal Civil Government, with Juan Jaén Botella leading the negotiations. The family continued to own the palace, the oil mill, the Coto, and the Narváez farmhouse. Upon being named heir to these estates, one of the sons, Enrique Gallardo, first sold the land belonging to the municipality of Beas de Guadix and the Coto, and later the oil mill, and the palace. The ground floor was used for grain, which was the method of payment for the land tenants, and as a garage. After the town church burned down and until a new one was built, these rooms were converted into a chapel. By this time, the palace was already owned by Pepe Pleguezuelos and José María de Granada. It remains privately owned today and belongs to the Vílchez siblings Manuel and Encarnación. It is located in Barrio Carabanchel.
Ermita de las Ánimas o de la Virgen del Carmen
This chapel, recently rebuilt due to the deterioration of the previous one, is dedicated to the Virgen del Carmen and is located in the Perchel neighborhood. It is located on the road to Los Baños de Graena.
Natural Areas
Sierra Nevada National Park
The Sierra Nevada is a dramatic and extensive mountain range. It is the highest in Europe after the Alps, and the most significant section of the Cordillera Penibética. The protected central area of National Park encompasses 85,883Ha of snowy summits, torrential rivers, sheer-sided gorges, stony scree slopes, and glacial lakes. An outer protection ring denominated Natural Park of 86,335Ha between the National Park and the foothills such as Alpujarras in the south, features cultivated terraces of almond trees and vegetables. Popular activities in the parks include skiing, hiking, mountain biking and summer camps. One can simply travel and discover its fauna and flora, see its lagoons and have an adventure in this vast area of land.
Sierra Nevada National Park
The Carcavas de Marchal (ravines) were declared a Natural Monument in October 2003 by the Regional Government of Andalusia. The clayey massif was used to create cave dwellings for the municipality’s residents. The area is located in one of the most interesting landscape and ecological environments in Europe: the badlands. This relief unit is the result of an erosional process caused by the combination of climate and substrate, which began approximately 80,000 years ago on poorly consolidated, highly fragile and crumbly materials such as clays, marls, gypsum and conglomerates. In these soft materials, watercourses quickly become narrower, giving rise to a relatively deep valley with steep walls. A secondary network of seasonal waterways, the gullies and small ravines, expanded this eroded area, creating a typical semi-desert landscape of hills almost bare of vegetation. Much of the rainfall falls in spring or autumn and is torrential, causing the normally dry gullies to overflow their banks, carrying with them a large amount of material. The visible results are the formation of gullies and ravines. The lack of adequate vegetation cover increases the combined effects of torrential rains on the soft substrates.
Handicrafts
The craftsmanship of the people of Marchal is very scarce and is centred almost exclusively on esparto grass, created by the locals in an employment workshop.
Gastronomy
The gastronomy of Marchal is dominated by dishes such as chickpea stew and products including cereal, almonds, olives and wine.
Festivals
Popular festivals in Marchal are Candelaria, Santo Cristo de los Milagros, San Marcos and San Bonifacio.
Bus Service
There is a bus service from Marchal to Granada City. More>
Nearby Places
The neighbouring villages to Marchal are Beas de Guadix and Purullena.