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Alcaucín (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Flag of Alcaucín - Image from the Símbolos de Málaga website, 11 September 2016

Presentation of Alcaucín
Symbols of Alcaucín

See also:

Presentation of Alcaucín

The municipality of Alcaucín (2,375 inhabitants in 2015; 4,510 ha; municipal website), is located 60 km north-east of Málaga, on the border with the Province of Granada. The municipality is made of the town of Alcaucín and of the villages of Puente de Don Manuel, Espino, Cortijillos, Venta Baja, El Toril, Pilarejo, and El Cerro.

Alcaucín's name is Arab in origin, deriving from Al Cautin, meaning "The Arches". Some historians have suggested the reason for this being the existence of an aqueduct in the area, while others believe the name refers to the abundance of yew trees, the wood of which was used to make bows (arco translates as either "an arch" or "a bow") for warfare and hunting. What is certain is that the area has been populated since pre-historic times, as is evident in the remains found in the Boquete de Zafarraya. It is also believed that the fortress of Zalia was built by the Phoenicians and later occupied by the Moors, falling the Christians in 1485 when the castle was used as a prison for rebel Moriscos. It was besieged during the Napoleonic invasion in a later period. But the worst disaster that ever befell Alcaucín was the earthquake of the late 19th century that destroyed houses and changed the course of underground streams.

Ivan Sache & Blas Delgado, 11 September 2016

Symbols of Alcaucín

The flag and arms of Alcaucín, adopted on 26 June 2012 by the Municipal Council and submitted on 3 July 2012 to the Directorate General of the Local Administration, are prescribed by a Resolution adopted on 13 July 2012 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 26 July 2012 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 146, p. 49 (text).
The "rehabilitated" symbols are described as follows:

Flag: In proportions 3:2, vertically divided into two equal parts; at hoist, green, and at fly, red, in the centre a yellow, three-arched archway.
Coat of arms: Spanish shield. Per fess, 1. Gules a castle or masoned sable port and windows azure, 2. Vert a three-arched archway argent masoned sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown closed.

Ivan Sache, 11 September 2001