| Official Name: | La Viñuela |
| Pushpin Map: | Spain Andalusia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Andalusia |
| Coordinates: | 36.85°N -12°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Spain |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous Community |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Type3: | Comarca |
| Subdivision Name1: | Andalusia |
| Subdivision Name2: | Málaga |
| Subdivision Name3: | Axarquía - Costa del Sol |
| Government Type: | Mayor–council |
| Governing Body: | Ayuntamiento de La Viñuela. |
| Leader Party: | PSOE |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Juan José Jiménez López |
| Area Urban Km2: | 27.22 |
| Elevation M: | 162 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Total: | 2045 |
| Population Density Km2: | 75.13 |
| Population Urban: | 591 |
| Population Metro: | 1454 |
| Population Demonym: | Viñoleros |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Postal Code: | 29712 and 29713 |
| Area Code: | +34 (Spain) 95 (Málaga) |
| Area Code Type: | Calling code |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
La Viñuela is a municipality in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of La Axarquía. The village of La Viñuela is situated from the provincial capital of Málaga and from the coast at Torre del Mar. The village sits at a height of above sea level. Inhabitants are called viñoleros. One of its hamlets is Los Romanes.
La Viñuela is dominated by the landscape of La Maroma, which belongs to the mountain range known as Sierra de Tejeda and at a height of is the highest mountain in Axarquía.[1] Another dominant feature of the landscape is that of the reservoir known in English as Lake Viñuela; it holds 170 million cubic metres of water and is surrounded by picnic areas, some with barbecues. Swimming and non-motorised water sports are also permitted here.
The village grew during the 18th century around a building called La Venta La Viña, which fed and watered weary travellers en route between the coast and inland Granada, which is still a centre for the old men of the village to meet for a game of dominoes. The village was named after the vines that grow in the area and from this building where local wine was sold. In 2011 the population was 1980 inhabitants according to data from the INE,[2] the Spanish Institute of National Statistics.
It became a town in 1764 with its first appointed mayor Juan Lucas García del Rey, however, this was not the first time the area had been inhabited: when the excavation work to create the reservoir began, 14 archaeological sites dating back to Neolithic and Roman times were found, including the remains of wattle and daub huts, a smelting furnace and an abundance of stone tools and ceramics.