Historic village of Monda.
In 45BC, the Roman civil war, which
had been raging between the forces of Pompei and those of Julius
Caesar, was brought to an end in Caesar's favour at the Battle of
Munda. The site of the Roman Spanish town of Munda is open to some
doubt, but there are those, not least the inhabitants of Monda itself,
who look at the similarity of names and declare that Munda and Monda
are one and the same.
It is highly unlikely, but Monda likes the story
and clings tenaciously to it.
 It is a tiny town with a population of less than
two thousand, beyond Ojén along the C-337
road, crouching in a mountain valley at a height of 1200ft. A few
years ago it was a much-favoured drop-out spot for hippies without
the inclination or energy to reach Marrakech or India. These have
now largely disappeared and left Monda to its own devices, perhaps
because the recently built road linking it to Marbella, and the
rapidly developing suburbs have made it too accessible and bourgeois.
Its
dominant feature, which the approaching visitor can hardly miss,
is the castle which stands above it. Architecturally the castle – actually an hotel - is an acquired taste which many may not
wish to acquire, but inside it is sumptuously decorated in Moorish
style and offers superb accommodation and cuisine.
It
has a long history. The site was originally occupied by an Ibero-Roman
fortified enclosure established in the 3rd-1st Centuries BC by the
Romans for use by the indigenous Iberian population and to protect
the road to the more important town of Coín. When the Romans
left it fell into decline and remained neglected until the Moors
came along and used the spot to build a fortress.
Monda
fell to the Christian reconquerors in 1485, but the fortress remained
more or less intact until 1570 when, after an abortive Arab uprising,
it was demolished. The Christians did not consider Monda important
enough to warrant a new castle of their own, and the ruins were
left to rot.
They
were ignored for over 400 years until, in the mid-1970s, a German
aristocrat bought what little was left and began an ambitious re-building
project. Eventually he tired of what he considered endless Spanish
bureaucracy and sold out to a group of determined English entrepreneurs
who completed the work and opened the place as a luxury hotel.
Monda
may seem an odd place to establish such a grand venture, but its
new accessibility to the coast makes it an ideal spot for a romantic
weekend or for visiting businessmen who prefer to stay in a place
less brash and bustling than Marbella.
Without
its castle hotel and its dreams of past glory, Monda would be a
town without an identity, so we should not begrudge it either. The
hotel bar will no doubt buzz with tales of the battle of Munda for
centuries more.
The above text was kindly provided
by David Wood, who with Chris Wawn is co-author of the book "In
Search of Andalucia".
Click
here to order your copy from our online book store.
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