Towns of Jaén

The towns of Jaén are a jewel not yet discovered by mass tourism. The fact that the province does not have a sea has meant that visitors have preferred the border of Granada, no less pretty by the way.

However, in the province of Jaén you can find wonderful landscapes integrated into the Natural parks of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, by Sierra Magina, by Sierra Andújar y by Despeñaperros. Without forgetting the spectacular olive groves or natural reserves such as those of Honda Lagoon y Chinche Lagoon. And, along with all this, towns nestled in unique places with a lot of history that can be seen in their monumental heritage. If you want to know the most beautiful towns in Jaén, we invite you to follow us.

The towns of Jaén that you should visit

Some of these towns are to the east of the province, others are to the north and a third are to the east or west, but all of them have a common denominator: their beauty leaves no one indifferent. Let's get to know them.

Cazorla

Framed by the Sierra de Jaén, Cazorla is a perfect example of what we were saying to you. Located in a wonderful natural environment, it combines the typicality of its narrow and steep streets of white houses with important monuments that have granted it the category of A Cultural.

A must in the town is the Yedra castle, which dominates it from the top of the Salvatierra hill and which was built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. It is very well preserved and inside you will find the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs of Alto Guadalquivir.

You can also see in Cazorla the ruins of the castle of the Five Corners and the Renaissance church of Santa María de Gracia. And we also recommend the palaces of La Merced and Vicaría; the House and the Fountain of the Chains, Herreriano style; the Church of Our Lady the Virgen del Carmen, with its octagonal tower, or the hermitages of the Virgen de la Cabeza and San Miguel.

On the other hand, if you visit the town and like hiking, magnificent routes through the Natural Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas. Some of them are the one that goes from Cerrada de los Utreros to the Salto de los Órganos, that of the Tus river or that of the Tranco reservoir, also called Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente.

Segura of the Sierra

In the same natural park as the previous one is Segura de la Sierra, which is part of the network of The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain and that has also been declared Historic Artistic Set.

Its most emblematic monument is the Mudejar castle, which impresses from the top of the town with its walls and towers in perfect condition. Of Arabic invoice, it later served as the residence of the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago.

The Arab baths from the eleventh century; the church of Our Lady of the Collado, Together with the Imperial Fountain, as well as the Town Hall, with a beautiful plateresque facade. There is even a monument to the poet jorge manrique, although its origin is debated with Paredes de Nava, in Palencia.

Baths of the Encina

Located in full Sierra Morena, this town is one of the most picturesque in the province of Jaén. Its old town is A Cultural, With the church of San Mateo, where you can see a painting attributed to Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the hermitages of Jesús del Camino, the Virgen de la Encina and Cristo del Llano, with its baroque dressing room.

But above all, Baños de la Encina stands out for the imposing Burgalimar castle, which, built in 968, is one of the oldest in Europe. It is a fortress from the Umayyad period that consists of fourteen towers and an enclosure of crenellated walls. Since 1931 it is National Monument and, if you go up to it, you will enjoy impressive views of both the Sierra Nevada and the olive groves of the plain.

Finally, you can visit in this town the town of Penalosa, an Argaric archaeological site from the Bronze Age that shows what could one day be an important core of metallurgical exploitation of copper.

Baeza a wonder among the towns of Jaén

Special mention among the towns of Jaén deserves this city surrounded by olive trees and which is in the exact center of the province. This is proven by a circle marked on the first step of its Town Hall, by the way a beautiful Plateresque building. And we must stop more in Baeza because it has been declared Heritage in 2003 in recognition of its impressive monumental value.

You have to see in Baeza an endless number of wonders belonging to different periods, cultures and artistic styles, but we will highlight some of them. First of all, you must visit the Santa Maria square, nerve center of the town. In it you can see the Renaissance Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady and, glued to it, the calls High Town Halls, from the same period; the fountain of Santa Maria, built in 1564; the Seminary of San Felipe Neri and, next to the Barbudo door, the old Holy Trinity University, a beautiful mannerist building.

You should also see the Plaza del Pópulo or Los Leones, where the Jaén gate is located, which belongs to the old wall, and the Pópulo's house, an impressive plateresque building. No less imposing is the facade of the Jabalquinto palace, one of the many in Baeza. If you want to see more, come to the houses of Avilés or Los Canónigos and Rubín de Ceballos palace.

For its part, The walk It is the name given to the Plaza de España, porticoed in the Castilian style. In it are the Aliatares tower, the Alhondiga, the Tank, the Council Balcony or Low Town Halls, the Church of the Immaculate Conception and the City Council, which we have already mentioned.

Finally, in the outskirts of Baeza you can find the churches of San Pablo, XNUMXth century gothic, of San Andrés, Renaissance of the XV and From El Salvador, Gothic-Mudejar from the XIII. And also him Jarafe castle and La Laguna Farm, both assets of cultural interest. In short, and as you can see, Baeza alone deserves a visit.

Ubeda

Declared Heritage at the same time as the previous one, Úbeda is the other jewel among the towns of Jaén. Known as "the city of the hills", it stands out, as in Baeza, an impressive Renaissance monumental complex.

To the urbanism of that time belongs the Vazquez de Molina square. Only in it you have a large number of spectacular buildings to see. Among the religious, the church of Santa María de los Reales Alcázares, which is a National Monument, and the Sacred Chapel of the Savior, with its imposing Plateresque façade.

Regarding civil constructions, you have to visit the Dean Ortega's palace, which is an Asset of Cultural Interest; that of Don Rodrigo Orozco; the one with the chains y that of the Marquis of Mancera. All of them are of Renaissance invoice, but older is the call Bishop's Jail. This is currently the Palace of Justice and the refurbishment works found remains of an ancient Celtic necropolis.

On the other hand, you have the intramural enclosure of Úbeda. In this is the May Day square, with a spectacular marble statue of San Juan de la Cruz. And also him Hospital of the Honored Old Men of Salvador, also declared a Site of Cultural Interest; the old ones Town Halls, with its double arcade in Italian style; The palaces of the Counts of Guadiana and Vela de los Cobos, and the churches of San Pedro, in Romanesque style, and San Pablo.

All this without forgetting the convent of San Miguel and the oratory of San Juan de la Cruz, baroque the latter, as well as the monastery of Santa Clara, with two impressive cloisters, one Romanesque and the other Mudejar.

Anyway, we could mention the House of the Towers, the Palace of Don Luis de la Cueva o the one with the marques del Contadero and we would not finish listing the monuments that you can see in Úbeda. But we will tell you about the impressive city ​​walls, with its towers and gates, from the top of which you have magnificent views of the Sierra de Cazorla and the plains of olive trees.

Alcala la Real

Located in the southwest of the province, it stands out among the towns of Jaén for its imposing fortress of La Mota, superbly preserved. It dates from the Nasrid period (XNUMXth century) and therefore responds to the traditional structure of the cities of Muslim Andalusia.

Consequently, it has three overlapping areas. The exterior is the walled enclosure where there were several suburbs. The middle one is the citadel, which occupies the entire plateau of the Cerro de la Mota and is separated from the previous one by another wall with several gates such as those of Las Lanzas and Santiago. Finally, the interior is occupied by the fortress or palace of the lord of the city, with its keep.

Within the fortress itself is the Main Abbey church, a Renaissance-style construction by the Granada-born master Ambrosio de Vico with a beautiful Plateresque decoration inside. On the other hand, you can also see the abbey palace, a magnificent neoclassical building from the XNUMXth century that stands out for its cloister with three arches. Currently, it also houses the Museum and Interpretation Center of Alcalá la Real.

The Iruela

Located on the slopes of the Sierra de Cazorla, it is one of the most unique towns in Jaén for its narrow streets with white houses. But above all for its castle tower, which seems to be balancing on a rock without falling.

It is one of the remains of the Almohad fortress that are kept in La Iruela, but you should also visit the Church of Santo Domingo, a Renaissance temple that is within the walls of the castle itself.

Martos

On our route through the towns of Jaén we arrive at another monumental jewel of the province. With origins that are lost in prehistory, this town has been configured around the huge hill called, precisely, the Rock of Martos.

This has caused its historic center to be made up of typical winding and steep streets that have given it the categories of A Cultural and Historical-Artistic Set. Its most prominent constructions are the castle of La Peña, built in the fourteenth century by the Order of Calatrava and which is in ruins, and that of the Villa o Lower Fortress, where you should look at the Almedina tower, with its almost twenty-five meters and its machicolation on the roof.

Within the same enclosure is the precious Sanctuary and Bell Tower of Santa María de la Villa, whose origin dates back to the XNUMXth century. However, the current temple was built at the end of the Civil War, after demolishing the previous one that had been damaged. However, it responds to the neo-baroque style.

This is not the only prominent religious building in Martos. You can also visit the Royal Parish Church of Santa Marta, from the XNUMXth century and which houses the image of the patron saint of the city: Santa Marta de Betania. As a complement to this temple, the Chapel of Our Father Jesus Nazareno in whose interior there are baroque frescoes by Antonio María Reinoso.

They complete the heritage of religious architecture of Martos the monastery of the Holy Trinity, with a beautiful cover of Tuscan order; the Old Hospital and Church of San Juan de Dios and hermitages of Santa Lucía, San Miguel and San Bartolomé, the latter from the thirteenth century.

Regarding the civil architecture of the town of Jaén, in addition to the castles, you can visit the Old Jail and Cabildo, considered a marvel of Andalusian mannerism; the New Fountain, by Francisco del Castillo, like the previous one; the roman bridge and the New Friendship Circle, a building from the early XNUMXth century built in an eclectic-baroque style.

Aldeaquemada, the nature of the towns of Jaén

Although this town has monuments such as the beautiful Church of the Immaculate Conception, of colonial style and the Tithe Farm and Labradors, from the XNUMXth century, stands out because near it is the cave art site of La Pochico table.

But above all, you must visit this town because it is in the Despeñaperros Natural Park and it has impressive natural places. Do not miss the Natural Area of ​​the Cascada de la Cimbarra and its cliffs.

Ovens

Like the previous one, it is located in a natural park, that of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, which we have already told you about previously. Also, visit your castle, an impressive Muslim fortress that is an Asset of Cultural Interest, and the church of Our Lady of the Assumption, a Gothic beauty from the XNUMXth century.

Alcaudete, to finish the tour of the towns of Jaén

Finally, you have to visit Alcaudete. It also has a castle known as the palace, which is dominating the city on a hill. It was built by the Arabs and expanded by the Christians. You should also see in the locality the church of Santa María la MayorGothic, although its magnificent tower is later; the Town Hall, built in the eighteenth century and responding to the baroque; the Convento de Santa Clara and Villa Fountain.

In conclusion, we have taken you through the towns of Jaén that are essential to visit because they are among the most beautiful and monumental in Andalusia. But there are others like The Carolina, with its baroque and neoclassical buildings; Begijar, an old Muslim farmhouse; Guarroman, fruit of the colonization of Sierra Morena in the XNUMXth century, or Sabote, all of it a marvel of Renaissance architecture. Don't you want to meet them?