Andújar (Spanish pronunciation:[anˈduxaɾ]) is a Spanish municipality of 35,619 people (2024) in the province ofJaén, inAndalusia. The municipality is divided by theGuadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of theSierra de Andújar is situated. To the south are agricultural fields and countryside. The city proper located on the right bank of the Guadalquivir and theMadrid-Córdoba railway. In the past, Andújar was widely known for its porous earthenware jars, calledalcarrazas orbotijos, which keep water cool in the hottest weather, and were manufactured from a whitish clay found in the neighbourhood.[2]
Paleolithic artifacts have been found in the area, associated with theAcheulean Culture, but it is during theNeolithic Age when the area became increasingly populated, with agriculture being developed in the fertile land, and mining activities beginning in theSierra Morena.
According to archaeological studies, the first people who inhabited the area where theOretani, anIberian people, who founded in the area the town ofIsturgi, today occupied by the hamlet of Los Villares de Andújar.[3]
Isturgi should not be identified with the ancient town ofIlliturgis, which was situated on the hill called Máquiz (Mengíbar). Nevertheless,iliturgitano is used to describe an inhabitant of Andújar. Isturgi had contact with various peoples:Turdetani,Phoenicians,Greeks,Carthaginians, and other towns, such asObulco (Porcuna) andCastulo.
During the times of theRoman Empire, theMunicipium Isturgi Triumphale was part of the province ofHispania Ulterior and thenHispania Baetica and the area known as theConventus Cordubensis. It flourished due to its production ofTerra sigillata and its location on the Guadalquivir. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it existed as aVisigothic town namedSturgi. But with the invasion of theMoors in the 8th century, the population fled to what are now the actual limits of the town of Andújar, where they may have already existed an Ibero-Roman settlement.
In 711 AD, after theBattle of Guadalete, the entire region became part ofAl-Andalus, and the town of Andújar first became known asAnduyar during the emirate ofMuhammad I of Córdoba (853). The city was fortified by theAlmohads during the 12th century. In 1225, the Muslim king ofBaeza handed over the castles ofJaén, Andújar andMartos, toFerdinand III of Castile, although some scholars believe the transfer occurred at a different time, especially as thesiege of Jaen in 1225 was unsuccessful and was thus still in Muslim hands in this year.[4] Ferdinand was entrusted with the fortresses, and control was given toÁlvaro Pérez de Castro, with the area occupied by troops from the military orders ofSantiago andCalatrava.[5][6]Andújar became a rendezvous point for Christian troops and armies who fought south of the Sierra Morena. The Muslim inhabitants of Andújar, Martos, andBaeza abandoned these towns at the end of 1226.[7]
In 1227, the first Christian inhabitants arrived at Baeza, Andújar and Martos, although some sources indicate that the repopulation of Andújar did not occur until 1228.[8] In 1467, the title of City was granted to Andújar byHenry IV of Castile.
In the 1480s the Crown's segregation edict for the Jews of Andújar was enforced by Garci Fernández of the Royal Council, acting for thekingdom of Jaén.[9]
During theNapoleonic Wars, the city was occupied by French troops in 1808. GeneralPierre Dupont de l'Étang, after conquering Córdoba, established his HQ at Andújar. From Andújar Dupont sent troops toBailén, where he lost thebattle there. After this battle, the capitulations were signed at Andújar in the Palace of Gracia Real.
In 1835, the first Junta de Soberanía Central de Andalucía (Junta of Central Sovereignty of Andalusia) was established at Andújar; it is considered the pioneer of the autonomist movement in Andalusia. In 1873, Andújar was declared a federal canton.
Andújar has aMediterranean climate (Csa) with very hot, dry summers and mild wet winters. Located in the east of theGuadalquivir valley, it has winters very similar to those observed inCórdoba and colder than inSeville due to its location further inland. Summers are extremely hot, often with average highs exceeding 37.5 °C (100 °F) for the period 1981-2010.[10] Andújar, together with the municipalities ofMontoro andMarmolejo, appear to have, on average, the highest average maximum temperatures inEurope during the summer.[11]
The most well-known local holiday is the Pilgrimage of the Virgen de la Cabeza, celebrated on the last Sunday of the month of April. During this pilgrimage, the faithful visit the sanctuary on the hill of the Cabezo. The local legend states that on the night of August 12, 1227, a shepherd fromColomera named Juan Alonso de Rivas was watching over the livestock belonging to a neighbor fromArjona when he began to see strange lights at the top of a hill. He also heard the incessant sounds of a bell. He climbed the hill and there found theimage of the Virgen de la Cabeza.
A local fair (feria) is also celebrated in September, associated with cattle-raising, but this aspect has diminished in recent years. Despite this, the fair still features stands and booths erected for the sale of cattle and livestock.
In September 2008, the Paralympic swimmerMiguel Ángel Martínez Tajuelo was the first native of the city to participate in these games, attending theParalympic Games in Beijing 2008. He won 3 Paralympic awards in the 100 meter race (5th), 50-meter race (6th) and 50 meter backstroke (5th).
^Julio González González (Editorial Maxtor: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Jerónimo Zurita, Las conquistas de Fernando III en Andalucía, 2006, Valladolid)
^Juan Eslava Galán (1990), "El castillo de la Peña de Martos y la Orden de Calatrava,"Boletín del Instituto de Estudios Giennenses (Instituto de Estudios Giennenses, 26 de febrero de 2010,"...Martos pasó de este modo a ocupar el centro estratégico de las fronteras cristiana."
^Gonzalo Martínez Díaz, "La conquista de Andujar: su integración en la Corona de Castilla,"Boletín del Instituto de Estudios Giennenses, 2000, no. 176, pp. 628-629 (Instituto de Estudios Giennenses, Jaén),http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1146801
^Gonzalo Martínez Díaz (2000), "La conquista de Andujar: su integración en la Corona de Castilla",Boletín del Instituto de Estudios Giennenses, no. 176 (Instituto de Estudios Giennenses),http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1146801, ("Es muy probable, como sugiere el Prof. Julio González González, que fuera en esta ocasión, en esta expedición del año 1228, cuando Fernando III iniciara la repoblación de Andújar y el asentamiento de los primeros vecinos castellanos de la ciudad.")
^Beinart, Haim (2001).The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. Vol. 1. Translated by Jeffrey M. Green. Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press. p. 15.
