| HISTORY OF BENIDORM SPAIN THE TOWN |
Benidorm has existed since 1325 when it gained it´s town charter
from Admiral Bernat De Serria at Polop castle which was then part
of the kingdom of Valencia. The giving of town charters was
carried out until the 17th century as a way of removing the Moors
and allowing Christians to inhabit the area.
The first settlements in the area can be found at Montbenidorm a
hill that you can see at the far end of the Poniente beach. Here
there are burial grounds and remains of an Iberian settlement that
dates back to the first century B.C. Archaeologists discovered
remains of fishing nets here firmly tying Benidorm to the sea even
then. A figure of Tanith who is a Phoenician goddess of fertility
and the heavens was also unearthed here as were remains of
Roman settlements nearby.
It is the long history of fishing which created the myth that Benidorm
was a small charming fishing village when in fact it never was. The
fishermen of Benidorm were actually deep sea fishermen who
spent many months in the Atlantic, South America and north of
Spain. They were famous all over Spain for their skills with trap
netting and were much sought after in the 18th century. They had
for many years used Almadraba netting an ancient Arabic tradition
to catch Tuna by placing a maze of deep sea netting to
progressively smaller inshore pools. A tradition which continued
until the 1950´s at the Rincon De Loix to catch Tuna as they
migrated across the Mediterranean.
Benidorm grew around the rocky outcrop now know as El Castillo
(in the old town) but it´s beginnings were hampered by raids from
pirates during the 15th century and the town was almost destroyed
as inhabitants fled. In the 16th and 17th centuries the town was
strengthened by the castle being rebuilt and made larger ( it is sad
but today nothing remains of the castle). In 1665 the town really
began to grow as water from inland was bought to the town along
channels. This was the single biggest cause of the population
increasing at this time.
With water came agriculture and olive groves sprung up all over
Benidorm with every spare meter of land being used to cultivate
this valuable commodity as well as Orange and Lemon groves. If
you go to Raco Conil a preserved area on the road to Villa Joyosa
were you take a left at the casino you can still see the terraces and
derelict fincas that have lay unused since the turn of the century
many of which still have now ancient olive trees on them. It was the
sea and agriculture that would maintain the town until the 19th
century when the road to Alicante was built.
Once road access opened from Alicante and the national railway
joined Benidorm to Alicante and other parts of Spain in 1914 the
first tourists begun to arrive in Benidorm from Alcoi and Madrid. It
was also at this time that Spain lost many of the colonies in South
America so the much needed income from deep sea fishing began
to decline. The first tourist hostals were built on the Levante in
1925 which was the start of the tourism industry for the town. It was
not however for another 30 years that the foreign invasion slowly
began in the form of package holidays to the Costa Blanca.
In 1952 the Almadraba netting which had earned an income for
many local families was closed in the Raco De L'Oix now known as
the Rincon in the center of the tourist area of Benidorm. This
meant a loss of income and the need for a plan to regenerate the
town for it´s now dwindling resident population.
In 1956 the town mayor approved plans to build the now famous
avenues along the Levante which would welcome at first Spanish
tourists and later those from Holland, Germany and Britain. The first
package holidays to Benidorm for as little as 21 euro for a week
half board in the four star Delfin Hotel including air travel to
Valencia airport which opened in 1933. In those early years the
coach trip from Valencia took four and a half hours. Late evening
arrivals when hotel kitchens were closed necessitated a stop at a
road side Tapas bar where a bottle of wine would only cost 9
pesetas and dinner 15 pesetas.
Alicante airport did not open until April1967. Once opened this
was the biggest contributing factor to Benidorm´s success as a
holiday resort, together with the introduction of modern jet airliners.
These made flying more cost effective and for the first time
enabled the ordinary family to enjoy a basic holiday abroad. This
was the beginnings of the end for many seaside destinations in
Britain such as the channel islands which saw tourist numbers
decline rapidly. Passenger numbers reached 8.9 million in 2005
and a new terminal is due to open in 2009 to cope with the
increased air traffic of which 80% arrives from foreign destinations.
Benidorm was the model that all early holiday resorts were based
on. The success culminated in 1977 when Benidorm entertained
12 million visitors a figure that has never been bettered.
Today Benidorm contributes 12% of Spain's gross national
product which means that the towns revenue is a massive
16,853,000 euro every day of the year.
That is an incredible 702,802 euro per hour
source national statistics 2005
For more information on the
town see the Benidorm town guide and A to Z of Benidorm Hotels
from Admiral Bernat De Serria at Polop castle which was then part
of the kingdom of Valencia. The giving of town charters was
carried out until the 17th century as a way of removing the Moors
and allowing Christians to inhabit the area.
The first settlements in the area can be found at Montbenidorm a
hill that you can see at the far end of the Poniente beach. Here
there are burial grounds and remains of an Iberian settlement that
dates back to the first century B.C. Archaeologists discovered
remains of fishing nets here firmly tying Benidorm to the sea even
then. A figure of Tanith who is a Phoenician goddess of fertility
and the heavens was also unearthed here as were remains of
Roman settlements nearby.
It is the long history of fishing which created the myth that Benidorm
was a small charming fishing village when in fact it never was. The
fishermen of Benidorm were actually deep sea fishermen who
spent many months in the Atlantic, South America and north of
Spain. They were famous all over Spain for their skills with trap
netting and were much sought after in the 18th century. They had
for many years used Almadraba netting an ancient Arabic tradition
to catch Tuna by placing a maze of deep sea netting to
progressively smaller inshore pools. A tradition which continued
until the 1950´s at the Rincon De Loix to catch Tuna as they
migrated across the Mediterranean.
Benidorm grew around the rocky outcrop now know as El Castillo
(in the old town) but it´s beginnings were hampered by raids from
pirates during the 15th century and the town was almost destroyed
as inhabitants fled. In the 16th and 17th centuries the town was
strengthened by the castle being rebuilt and made larger ( it is sad
but today nothing remains of the castle). In 1665 the town really
began to grow as water from inland was bought to the town along
channels. This was the single biggest cause of the population
increasing at this time.
With water came agriculture and olive groves sprung up all over
Benidorm with every spare meter of land being used to cultivate
this valuable commodity as well as Orange and Lemon groves. If
you go to Raco Conil a preserved area on the road to Villa Joyosa
were you take a left at the casino you can still see the terraces and
derelict fincas that have lay unused since the turn of the century
many of which still have now ancient olive trees on them. It was the
sea and agriculture that would maintain the town until the 19th
century when the road to Alicante was built.
Once road access opened from Alicante and the national railway
joined Benidorm to Alicante and other parts of Spain in 1914 the
first tourists begun to arrive in Benidorm from Alcoi and Madrid. It
was also at this time that Spain lost many of the colonies in South
America so the much needed income from deep sea fishing began
to decline. The first tourist hostals were built on the Levante in
1925 which was the start of the tourism industry for the town. It was
not however for another 30 years that the foreign invasion slowly
began in the form of package holidays to the Costa Blanca.
In 1952 the Almadraba netting which had earned an income for
many local families was closed in the Raco De L'Oix now known as
the Rincon in the center of the tourist area of Benidorm. This
meant a loss of income and the need for a plan to regenerate the
town for it´s now dwindling resident population.
In 1956 the town mayor approved plans to build the now famous
avenues along the Levante which would welcome at first Spanish
tourists and later those from Holland, Germany and Britain. The first
package holidays to Benidorm for as little as 21 euro for a week
half board in the four star Delfin Hotel including air travel to
Valencia airport which opened in 1933. In those early years the
coach trip from Valencia took four and a half hours. Late evening
arrivals when hotel kitchens were closed necessitated a stop at a
road side Tapas bar where a bottle of wine would only cost 9
pesetas and dinner 15 pesetas.
Alicante airport did not open until April1967. Once opened this
was the biggest contributing factor to Benidorm´s success as a
holiday resort, together with the introduction of modern jet airliners.
These made flying more cost effective and for the first time
enabled the ordinary family to enjoy a basic holiday abroad. This
was the beginnings of the end for many seaside destinations in
Britain such as the channel islands which saw tourist numbers
decline rapidly. Passenger numbers reached 8.9 million in 2005
and a new terminal is due to open in 2009 to cope with the
increased air traffic of which 80% arrives from foreign destinations.
Benidorm was the model that all early holiday resorts were based
on. The success culminated in 1977 when Benidorm entertained
12 million visitors a figure that has never been bettered.
Today Benidorm contributes 12% of Spain's gross national
product which means that the towns revenue is a massive
16,853,000 euro every day of the year.
That is an incredible 702,802 euro per hour
source national statistics 2005
For more information on the
town see the Benidorm town guide and A to Z of Benidorm Hotels
| Benidorm Spain Costa Blanca History and old photos of Benidorm © 2005 2006 2007 2008 Realbenidorm.net |
| Welcome to the Costa Blanca Spain Real Benidorm Hotels & Holiday Guide Here you will find a short history of Benidorm from the early settlements to the start of tourism at the turn of the century. BENIDORM IN THE HISTORIC LAND OF VALENCIA |
