Chilches
A village in the municipality of Vélez-Málaga, near the N-340 main road, bordering the municipality of Rincón de la Victoria, towards the city of Malaga.
Some of the buildings worth mentioning are the Inmaculada Concepción church, built in the 17th century in Plaza de la Constitución, and the Chilches Tower, a 16th century watchtower, built next to the N-340 main road.
History
The history of Chilches begins in the Roman era. Its Roman name was Cicer – because of the chickpea fields in the area.
After several consecutive invasions, Chilches became a Visigoth settlement, and later one, a Moorish settlement. In that era, its name was Arabised and changed to the current Chilches, and it became a thriving Moorish farmstead.
In 1492, after the conquest of Granada, Chilches and its two towers were divided amongst the noblemen that fought in the battle: amongst them, the Count Manrique de Lara and the Marquis Garci Fernández Manrique. The inland tower was destroyed shortly afterwards, while the tower on the coast remains standing today.
Chilches then became a fishing village, until the phylloxera plague that devastated the economy in Malaga in the 19th century.
Until the 19th century, Chilches depended on the village of Macharaviaya. For a short period of time, from 1821 to 1868, it had is own town hall. In August 1868 it changed hands and was governed by Vélez-Málaga Town Hall.
