Atajate

Atajate is a Spanish municipality in the province of Malaga, Andalusia, located east of the province in the Genal Valley, being one of the towns that make up the region of the Serrania de Ronda.

Remains of polished stone pieces (Piedras de rayo), axes (Neolithic), presence of bronze (Chalcolithic) in the Sima de los Tajos. Remains of a Roman road (Lacipo-Arunda route) and coins. Visigoth remains: burial site at Montecillo. Other Muslim remains in Puerto de Jimera, El Llano and Huerta Nueva. Remains of the uninhabited village of Audalázar, now in the municipality of Alpandeire. In 1496 it belongs to the Lordship of Ronda (Prince D. Juan). Royal Lands. In 1499 it belongs to the Crown of Castile-Aragon. In 1505 creation of the parish in Atajate.

In the 19th century construction of the Church of San José. Before 10 March 1810 the old church was sacked by the French. It was never restored. In 1820 creation of the judicial districts, Atajate becomes part of Gaucín. In 1932 construction of the Ronda-Atajate road, C-341, now the A-369. In 1941 the Atajate-Gaucín section of the Atajate-Gaucín road is built. In terms of wine, Atajate had a Golden Age of Wine Atajate was a great reference point in the province and beyond, we are talking about a time when this village was economically sustained by the good production of its vineyards and its products.

We are all aware of our excellent production of must, totally natural, but even less known is the period of splendour that the municipality enjoyed in its day. There were more than thirty wine presses, according to the locals, but most of them are no longer active. These places have an area for treading the grapes and a press to obtain all the juice from the grapes. In addition, these places are often used as wine cellars, where the must is usually stored in large demijohns or barrels and, in the past, even in jars.

It has come down to us that these wine presses also housed stills, which were used to produce Aguardiente, the driving force behind the economy of the municipality for many families. It was traded at provincial and interprovincial level. It is remembered and commented by the elders of the village, “the smell of Matalahúva" that the stills gave off, in the process of distillation, through the streets of the village. But this is part of a past with a great richness, which we do not know if it will ever be repeated: the production of aguardiente in Atajate. However, this boom in the municipality was tarnished at the end of the 19th century, specifically in 1877. Atajate suffered an epidemic of phylloxera which devastated the vineyards, causing desolation in the village.