History
Old charm in perfect condition
The exact age of the Cortijo del Marqués is still unknown. However, we know that before the Marquis of Mondéjar converted the main building into his manor house, it was a convent for nuns. The 4000 hectares estate was planted with olive trees, the traditional crop of the area. More than thirty peasant families lived in the estate’s buildings and – like in any other small village – it had a miller, a blacksmith, a teacher and a shepherd.
In 1878 the Chapel was built, which together with the fortified tower are the most recent additions to the Cortijo. The peasant families living at the Cortijo del Marqués as well as those of nearby farms, who also worked for the Marquis, used to attend Sunday Mass at the Chapel.
During the Spanish Civil War, when the Chapel served as barracks for a Republican cavalry regiment, an artillery round destroyed its right side wall. At the end of the war the Chapel was restored to its former glory and its base reinforced.
After the war all the inhabitants started to move away from the Cortijo del Marqués to nearby villages and to Granada, leaving the buildings to slowly crumble and collapse. The Cortijo became a hidden gem in ruins known only to locals.
The restoration work on the Cortijo buildings began in the year 2002. The main aim was to preserve all the original elements and materials of the Cortijo del Marqués. Unusual architectural elements were used to decorate the rooms: Roman columns, olive oil cisterns, pigeon niches, wooden mangers…
After centuries of existence and decades of decay, the Cortijo del Marqués was opened for business in September 2003 and offers exclusive countryside accommodation that preserves the charm of an old Andalusian manor house.