HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO is a secluded and private estate in the heart of Montes de Málaga. It is located in an incredible mid-mountain landscape criss-crossed by small valleys and offers spectacular views of the hilly topography that stretches all the way to the city of Málaga. The views of the sea and beyond to Africa are magnificent.
The breathtaking, rugged landscape is rich in vegetation and holds a rich history. Manuel Crespo, a confectioner who owned the estate between 1816 and 1820, gave it the name Pastelero.
It is hard to believe that you can be in the centre of Málaga in just 20 minutes by car and on the beach in 25 minutes. The airport is 15 minutes away. It’s quite something to feel so remote and a world away from the hustle and bustle, yet everything you could want is within easy reach. It’s like two separate worlds.
HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO – PRESENT DAY
HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO is the home of Dr. Claudia M. Elsig, a world-renowned psychiatrist from Switzerland whose clinic in Zurich has won several prestigious awards. Following several years of searching for the perfect place to pursue her interests, she finally found this unique property after visiting more than 50 other fincas. She immediately fell in love with the place and realised it offered endless potential and possibilities.
The unique environment inspires childlike curiosity, self-determination, and freedom. Dr. Elsig’s several dozen horses, mostly purebred Lusitanos but also German warmbloods, two Knabstruppers, and an Achal Tekkiner, roam freely around the grounds, giving the place a magical feel. Fittingly, a pair of wild falcons are regularly spotted hovering over the grounds and breed and raise their young at the hacienda every year. If there is one place in the world where the word freedom is so wonderfully expressed, it is here at the HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO.
This spring, twenty-eight olive trees were pruned for olive oil production. The estate has many more olive trees, but the project to produce oil of exceptional quality here is still in its infancy.
Work is currently underway to modernise the hacienda and build stables with the utmost respect for the estate’s history. The restoration will preserve as much of the original architecture as possible while sensitively redesigning the structures to allow history and progress to interact.
THE LOCATION
ABOUT MONTES DE MÁLAGA
THE LANDSCAPE
The breathtaking landscape of Montes de Málaga is located five kilometres north of the city of Málaga. The uneven terrain is crossed by countless streams and riverbeds, including the famed Guadalmina River, which flows to the west of the park. With its spectacular gorges, pools, and crystal-clear waters, the river meanders 47 km from its source to Málaga, where it flows into the sea.
The Montes de Málaga are characterised by their uneven, steep slopes and rugged, low mountain ranges. Deep valleys and planes are rare, and the terrain conveys a breathtaking sense of movement on solid ground.
In July 1989, the Junta de Andalucía declared the Montes de Málaga a natural park.
FLORA AND FAUNA
The area’s diverse habitat consists of dense forests, open scrubland, and numerous bodies of water. The magnificent Aleppo pine forest is the dominant flora of the area and is considered the lungs of Málaga.
There are oak, carob, and wild olive trees, and cultivated areas of almond trees. There are also some chestnut trees, poplars, ash trees, and willows. The scrubland is home to many dwarf palms, strawberry trees, and aromatic plants such as thyme, rosemary, and lavender, which create a wonderfully heady, fragrant atmosphere.
The area’s fascinating wildlife includes mountain goats, wild boar, deer, badgers, otters, wildcats, and brought-in, non-native deer and mountain oxen. The area is also home to numerous birds of prey, such as majestic eagles, buzzards, and hawks, as well as many other bird species, such as skylarks, crag martins, cuckoos, woodpeckers, and partridges.
Lizards, geckos, snakes, salamanders, toads, and chameleons feel at home here and thrive in this habitat.
THE ALEPPO PINE FOREST
The area was deforested in the 15th century when the Catholic monarchs divided up the land. The new owners cut down the native trees and replaced the forest and scrubland with olive trees and vines.
Without the forests, Málaga was hit by a series of catastrophic floods. At the end of the 19th century, the phylloxera epidemic devastated most of the region’s vineyards. The infestation not only exacerbated the floods but also meant that more than 110,000 hectares of vineyards had to be abandoned.
Incidentally, the first historical mention of the estate, prior to it being named HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO, dates back to 1738, when Alonso Durán sold it to Pedro Vallejo and Juana Morena. At that time, the estate had 34 vineyards with 1,000 vines each.
Between 1930 and 1950, Málaga City Council planted Aleppo pines in the Guadalmedina river basin to prevent the devastating flash floods that had plagued Málaga for centuries. Franco ordered the purchase of most of the private fincas in the region so the land could be reforested with pine trees. Manuel Martín Sánchez owned the HACIENDA DEL PASTELERO estate at the time of the reforestation but refused to sell it for this purpose.
Now, the magnificent Aleppo pine is the star of the region, but a new challenge is beginning. In some areas, there are signs that the trees are dying, their evergreen needles turning brown. This is probably due to the increasingly hot summers and lack of rainfall, a climate that can also increase pests. A new solution must be found, perhaps by replanting native trees better suited to a hotter, drier climate.
TECHNICAL MASTERPIECES
The Guadalmina River, which meanders through the picturesque landscapes of the Montes de Málaga Natural Park, is an integral part of the landscape and has played a crucial role in the city’s history and cultural and social development.
After repeated floods, King Alfonso XIII ordered the necessary public works in 1907 to prevent further floods, so the Agujero reservoir and dam were built to impound the Guadalmina River.
In recent decades, hydrological studies have shown that the dam is insufficient to guarantee the safety of Málaga, so the El Limonero dam further downstream was commissioned and completed in 1983.
Another engineering masterpiece in the region is the San Telmo aqueduct. It is one of Spain’s most extensive hydraulic structures from the 18th century. Bishop Molina Lario sponsored the project to channel water from the river Guadalmina to Málaga.
A STORY OF LAND AND PEOPLE
Málaga is one of the oldest cities in the world. Accordingly, many peoples have passed through this area, including the Iberians, Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Visigoths. The area is home to a legacy of ancient civilisations and incredible technical masterpieces.
The Andalusian plain was famous for its metal, cereals, milk, wood, and honey, as well as the many animals that could be hunted there. Roman settlers exploited the natural resources and devastated the land through cattle breeding, agriculture, and logging for shipbuilding.
When the Visigoths arrived in the middle of the fifth century, they recognized the importance of preserving the forest and imposed harsh punishments for timber theft. The Moors, who later conquered the peninsula, upheld this law.
The Catholic Monarchs’ conquest of Málaga in 1487 heralded the end of Muslim rule, and the laws protecting the forests were repealed in favour of wine production. The land was used to grow grapes, but in 1877, pests destroyed the vines. They were replaced by olive and almond trees, which were easier to care for.
The general and dictator Francisco Franco (1892 – 1975) ruled Spain from 1939 until his death. His reign began during the Spanish Civil War after he secured the backing of the Catholic Church and overthrew the democratically elected Second Republic with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
Franco ruled with an iron fist, persecuting and killing thousands of political opponents and confiscating land, including properties and estates throughout the Andalusian region. The culture and language of the Basque and Catalan regions were suppressed. It was a semi-fascist regime that made Catholicism the only tolerated religion.
Franco amassed a vast fortune during his four-decades-long dictatorship, siphoning hundreds of millions from the Spanish State. During his rule, Andalusia became a forgotten backwater, and many Andalusians emigrated to Catalonia and France. There are many wounds of Franco’s past regime still to be healed.