Láchar is a municipality in the province of Granada, in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The village of Láchar lies in Granada's

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

(or "''Vega de Granada''", in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) amid poplar

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, arable farmland and olive groves. The surrounding countryside, and particularly the pine forest known as Los Pinares, lends itself to outdoor sports and recreational activities, and there is also a long tradition of partridge shooting.

History

The origin of Láchar goes back to the times of the earliest

human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of ci ...

s and its situation in the fertile floodplain of the River Genil has made farming the main form of livelihood in the area for many centuries. Studies have revealed the existence of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlement in the area, "Los Hornillos", and a field of silos has been found which would have been for the storage of food. Near to "Lacen" (the name given to Láchar by the Romans), there are also other Roman remains, such as the " Villas Rusticae" in Adamucejo (or Lower Daimuz), and Daragoleja, which was under the administrative control of the Roman villa of Ilurco. In the Reconquest, the alquería or farmstead was burnt by the

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

s commanded by

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

(the

Constable of Castile Constable of Castile ( es, Condestable de Castilla) was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title ''Alférez Mayor del Reino''. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and hi ...

) and was finally conquered in 1492. Láchar had previously formed part of the Alquería of La Piedra (the Spanish translation of its Arabic name) which was owned by a wealthy Nasrid family from

Boabdil Abu Abdallah Muhammad XII ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد الثاني عشر, Abū ʿAbdi-llāh Muḥammad ath-thānī ʿashar) (c. 1460–1533), known in Europe as Boabdil (a Spanish rendering of the name ''Abu Abdallah''), was the ...

's court. Cortijo of Láchar were granted to the ancestors of the Count of Benalúa, who owned it until 1897 when ''Don'' Julio Quesada de Cañaveral y Piédrola successfully made a claim of ownership resulting in the cortijo and all its adjoining land being passed to him. At the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, the village was bought by the National Institute for Colonisation, to carry out the plans outlined in 1932 by the Institute for Agrarian Reform for the redistribution of land among new settlers.

Twin town

* Brenna,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

References

Municipalities in the Province of Granada {{Granada-geo-stub