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Almáchar (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Flag of Almáchar - Image from the Símbolos de Málaga website, 12 September 2016

Presentation of Almáchar
Symbols of Almáchar

See also:

Presentation of Almáchar

The municipality of Almáchar (1,867 inhabitants in 2015; 1,500 ha; municipal website) is located 40 km north-east of Málaga.

Almáchar was named for the Arab word maysar / machar, meaning "pastures" / "a land covered with pastures". Together with Cútar, El Borge and Moclinejo, Almáchar formed the Four Towns (Cuatro Villas), protected by the castle of Comares. After the Christian reconquest in 1487, the village still depended on Comares, as confirmed by the share made in Segovia on 20 August 1494. The transfer of the most fertile lands to 64 Christian colonists caused the departure of some Moriscos, especially in the first decade of the 16th century.
Almáchar was hit in 1755 by a series of earthquakes, which forced the villagers to abandon their houses for a while. Together with El Borge, the village was listed in 1556 as a main center of production of raisins of the lexia variety. Raisins, honoured by the Raisins Museum, are still the main source of income for 90% of the inhabitants of the village.
The village was mentioned in the Málaga Ordinances of 1611 as Macharalhayate. Subsequently, the villagers erected a big cross (cruz) atop a hill dominating the village, so that the village was known as Almáchar de la Cruz.
In the late 19th century, Almáchar was renown for fabrics produced by the more than 100 tailors established in the village.

Ivan Sache, 12 September 2016

Symbols of Almáchar

The flag of Almáchar, adopted on 27 June 2001 by the Municipal Council, as proposed on 7 June 2001 by the Mayor, and validated on 29 November 2001 by the Royal Academy of Córdoba, is prescribed by Decree No. 33, adopted on 5 February 2002 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 2 March 2002 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 26, pp. 3,386-3,387 (text). This was confirmed by a Resolution adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: [...] rectangular, extending from the side closer to the hoist to the fly with a length double of the width, horizontally divided into two equal parts, the upper, red, and the lower, green. In the center, with its geometrical axis fitted to the center of the flag, the coat of arms, crowned with a Royal Spanish crown.

The Preamble of the Decree states that the colours of the flag were taken from the coat of arms, representing also the national and regional flags.

The coat of arms of Almáchar is prescribed by Decree No. 2,606, adopted on 16 October 1969 by the Spanish Government and published on 6 November 1969 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 266, p. 17,255 (text). This was confirmed by a Resolution adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. Gules a cross or, 2. Vert a castle argent The shield surmounted by a Royal crown.

The Preamble of the Decree prescribing the flag mentions the memoir supporting the proposed coat of arms. The coat of arms is based on municipal documents older than 1832; the cross is the emblematic element of the village, which was known after 1487 as Almáchar de la Cruz.

Ivan Sache, 12 September 2016