Cortijo Jurado facts for kids
The Cortijo Jurado, also known as the Haunted House (or Casa Encantada in Spanish), is an old mansion from the 1800s. It stands in ruins near Campanillas Village in Málaga Province in Spain. Many people say it's one of the most haunted places in the area. The land around the Cortijo is quite large, covering about 45,206 square meters.
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The Mansion's History
The Cortijo Jurado was built in the 1800s by the wealthy Heredia family from Málaga. They were one of the richest families in Andalucia at that time.
The building is said to have 365 windows, one for each day of the year! It was planned as a large cortijo (a type of traditional farm or country estate) to help the family's farming business grow. In 1925, the Jurado family became the new owners of the property.
Why People Call it Haunted
The Cortijo Jurado is known in Málaga as 'the haunted mansion'. This is not just because it looks old and spooky. Many people have reported hearing mysterious voices and strange sounds there without any clear explanation. It's one of the most famous 'haunted' buildings in Spain and is a special place for people who are interested in paranormal phenomena (things that can't be explained by science).
There are old stories that say the Heredia family, along with other rich families, were involved in the disappearance of young girls years ago. While it's true that many young girls did go missing during that time, nothing was ever proven to connect these disappearances to the Heredia family. Some people believe the families used their money and power to avoid justice. Whatever the truth, many who believe in ghosts think that the sadness and pain from the past still remain within the mansion's walls, causing strange ghostly events.
What Happened Recently
In 2002, the city council of Málaga agreed to a plan from a group called Mirador. They wanted to build a fancy hotel on the Cortijo Jurado's land. They also planned to fix up the old mansion so it could be a cultural building open to everyone.
In December 2004, they got permission to start building. The Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, even placed a special foundation stone to mark the start of the project. But four years later, no building had actually started!
Problems with the Project
Since then, the Mirador group has faced many legal problems. They had sold properties to people that were never built. The courts stopped the sale of the Cortijo's land to make sure that money owed to others, especially a company called Promociones Pantie, could be paid back. The Mirador group owed a lot of money, and even the Málaga Council was owed 365,000 euros.
In December 2008, the building permission for the project was about to run out. The Málaga Council controversially decided to extend it.
In February 2009, a local politician named Antonio Serrano from the 'United Left' party made a formal complaint. He accused the town hall of being unfair in their dealings with the Mirador group. One big issue he raised was that the town hall had not collected a required fee of 900,000 euros for the building permission. The town hall said that the rules about this fee were not in place when they first made the agreement.
In May 2009, a judge in Málaga ordered the Mirador group to sell the property at a public auction. This was because they owed money to Promociones Pantie. However, the auction did not happen due to a mistake in the paperwork.
See also
In Spanish: Cortijo Jurado para niños
