Palace Garden

A stroll through Colmenar will allow visitors to see Andalusian manor houses and courtyards from the mid-19th century.  Two- and three-storey manor houses, some with Andalusian courtyards, dating from the mid-19th century. The streets are wide in the lower part of the town and, as they climb towards the church, they become narrower and steeper, clearly defining the historic centre.

On your sightseeing tour through the town’s streets, you’ll also be able to admire the niches that can still be seen on many of the façades.

A family-run winery that has been passed down from generation to generation to the present day, producing wines using the most traditional techniques that have long brought prestige to the wines of the Montes de Málaga. It uses the old presses still found in its traditional wine-treading cellar and its oak casks for ageing.  He is currently working on dry, sweet and reserve wines, and currently has a wineskin containing wine “Pedro Ximénez”, dating from 1962. It is, naturally, the winery’s oldest wine.

The building that currently houses Francisco Blanco’s winery is one of the oldest in Colmenar: It used to be a village school, and it seems there was also a prison there. It has recently been refurbished, creating a space that can be visited as a small ethnographic museum, featuring tools used for farm work and the grape harvest.

The town has an Interpretation Centre dedicated to promoting beekeeping, housed in the former headquarters of the Farmers’ Guild.

The The Honey Museum is an interpretation centre for beekeeping which has a an extensive collection of objects used throughout history for beekeeping and for its conservation. The Honey Museum houses themed galleries, a classroom-workshop, a shop and the offices of the Málaga Beekeepers’ Association. The centre features information panels, seven large screens and large-scale models of beehives and a bee over two metres long.

The site welcomes visits from school groups and tourists looking for cultural and educational experiences. Guided tours to the beehives, wearing a beekeeper’s suit. Groups wishing to visit the Honey Museum, including a field trip to our beehives, should book a date and contact the Museum. This is organised accompanied by instructors specialised. Guided tours are available on weekday mornings and afternoons, and at weekends and on public holidays only if booked in advance for groups of at least 10 people.

The main entrance to the village is crowned by what we call the «Puerta de La Cruz». This consists of an artistic monolith which greets us and welcomes us beneath a belfry crowned by a semicircular arch.

In this construction, sThis is where the town’s coat of arms is displayed depicting a beehive with seven bees flying above it. We can also see a historical scene that takes us back to 25 May 1488, the date on which Hamet el Zuque transferred ownership of this village’s estate to Francisco de Coalla.

A recent piece of archaeological research that is of direct interest to us is that of José E. Ferrer. Thanks to him, we know that Colmenar is rich in Roman and Arab archaeological finds. The subject of the study was a necropolis, situated near the village, consisting of small rectangular megalithic cists, which could not be reliably dated either chronologically or culturally as they had been looted; however, it appears that these burials had contained, alongside the funerary pottery grave goods, skeletal remains in a foetal position.

The current parish church It seems to have been built in the early 17th century and extended some 16 years later, funded by the townspeople and the Bishop of Málaga.

 On the church façade there is a plaque which, alongside the coat of arms of the Diocese of Málaga, reads as follows: «BY THE DEANS AND CHAPTER, WITH DR JOPH JILES PRETEL AS THEIR VISITOR. ACABOZE, YEAR 1658»; a tombstone which may provide evidence of the date of the temple’s final consecration. In subsequent years, it underwent various alterations.

 The temple features three high-rise buildings separated by semicircular arches resting on square pillars. The ceiling is wooden and, whilst not excessively ornate, exudes elegance and beauty. The transept and the high altar are covered by four cross vaults. Built in 1725, there is a rood screen at the foot of the church. Of particular note are the altars dedicated to Our Father Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows.

As artistic pieces Of particular interest are a late 18th-century display case, made of white silver with paired columns resting on plinths at the corners and decorated with gilded silver figures, and a large semi-circular oil painting from the same century depicting the Assumption. The church’s façade is made of brick and is of no particular significance. However, this parish was once considerably wealthier; the Spanish Civil War and a lack of care and interest in its artistic and valuable artefacts contributed to the loss of altarpieces of some artistic value and the majority of its silverware. Extensive renovation work is currently underway at this parish church.