The city of Jaén is the administrative and industrial centre for the province. Industrial establishments in the city include chemical works,tanneries,distilleries, cookie factories, textile factories, as well as agricultural andolive oil processing machinery industry.
The layout of Jaén is determined by its position on the foothills of the Cerro de Santa Catalina, with steep, narrow streets, in the historic core.
Its population is 112,757 (2020), about one-sixth of the population of the province. Jaén had an increase in cultural tourism in the mid-2010s, having received 604,523 tourists in 2015, 10% more than in 2014.[2]
Remains of theChalcolithic walls in Marroquíes Bajos
The area was populated since ancient times, with remains of city walls in theMarroquíes Bajos [es] site in the north of the city reportedly dating back in time to theChalcolithic, roughly four millennia ago.[4]
Known by Roman sources asAurgi (avrgi), similar names such asavringi,oringi, are also identified as referring to the same place.[5] The city was seized byScipio Africanus away fromCarthage by 207 BC, in the context of theSecond Punic War.[6] Following the Roman conquest, as former allies of the Punics, the city had the status ofcivitas stipendaria (required to pay tribute and under military rule), probably enduring harsh conditions in this period.[7] During theRoman Empire, in the time of theFlavian dynasty,Aurgi became amunicipium,[6]avrgi mvnicipivm flavivm.[8]
Following theUmayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the name ofŶaīyyān (of unclear origin) was mentioned in Hispano-Arab sources already in the 8th century.[9] Close toCórdoba, the city became the head of an importantkūra [es] in the emiral/caliphal period ofAl-Andalus, extending across a territory with some similarities to thecurrent province.[10] During the turbulent 11th century, in the context of theFitna of al-Andalus, the widerkūra was territory in dispute between the most powerful neighbouring taifas, such as Córdoba, Granada or Toledo, splitting up its territory.[11] Jaén was conquered byHabbus al-Muzaffar, leader of theZiridTaifa of Granada.[12] Decades after the final demise of the caliphate of Córdoba, Jaén was conquered by theAlmoravids in 1091.[13]
Taken in 1159 byIbn Mardanīš (theRey Lobo, ruler of Valencia opposed to the spread of theAlmohad Empire), his collaborator (and father-in-law)Ibn Hamušk surrendered and yielded Jaén to the almohads in 1169.[14]
19th century historicist painting illustrating the surrendering of Jaén byMuhammad I toFerdinand III in 1246.
For the rest of the Middle Ages, theconcejo orcomunidad de villa y tierra [es] of Jaén controlled a land that ranged from 1000 to 1600 km2, roughly delimited by theGuadalquivir to the North, the Arroyovil to the East, the Arroyo Salado de los Villares to the West, and the Sierra Sur de Jaén andSierra Mágina mountain ranges to the South.[20] Despite nominally featuring as the head of theKingdom of Jaén since the conquest, the importance of Jaén within the demarcation was balanced by those of the cities of Baeza andÚbeda.[21] It only began to stand out in relation to its growing strategic importance closer to the border with theKingdom of Granada, consolidating its military and administrative functions.[21] Unlike those cities, that developed an important textile craftmanship activity, Jaén's economic activity remained nonetheless largely agricultural well entered the Early Modern period.[22]
The intitulation of the city is: (Spanish) "La Muy Noble y muy Leal Ciudad de Jaén, Guarda y Defendimiento de los Reynos de Castilla", (English) "The Very Noble and very Loyal City of Jaén, Guard and Defense of the Kingdoms of Castile," a title that was given to the city by KingEnrique II ofCastile to the city of Jaén, due to the privileges that the city had, and to the role that the city was playing in the defense of theKingdom of Castile against the Arabs.
Jaén has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csa),[26] closely bordering on acold semi-arid climate (BSk) with dry, hot summers and mild, moderately wet winters. Jaén has a July high of 33.9 °C (93.0 °F), and mean low of 21.3 °C (70.3 °F) with a mean temperature of 27.6 °C (81.7 °F).[27] This is slightly less than the daily mean ofSeville which has the hottest daily summer mean in Western Europe with 28.2 °C (82.8 °F).[28] Despite its inland location and altitude of around 600 metres (2,000 ft), in winter Jaén averages only one snowy day and three days with lows under 0 °C (32 °F).[29] Jaén gets around 2800-3000 sunshine hours on average.[30]
Climate data for Jaén, 580 metres (1,900 ft) 1991-2020 averages, 1920-present extremes
Saint Catherine's Castle (Castillo de Santa Catalina) sits on the top of a hill overlooking the city. Previously there had existed a fortress of Arabic origin (Abrehui's castle), of which some remains still exist. The current construction is of Christian origin, raised after theconquest of the city byFerdinand III of Castile, called the Saint, in 1246.
Jaén Cathedral is one of the most importantRenaissance-stylecathedrals. Construction began in 1570 and was completed in 1802. It is dedicated to theAssumption of the Virgin, and was built to shelter therelic of theHoly Face, orVeil of Veronica, lodged at the major chapel and exhibited to the public every Friday. Due to the length of time in its construction, different artistic styles can be appreciated, the most prominent being Renaissance;Andrés de Vandelvira the most important architect. He is the greatest exponent of the Andalusian Renaissance. It aspires to be listed as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO.
TheArab Baths (Baños Arabes) in Jaén are among the largestIslamic bathhouses preserved inSpain. They can be visited underVillardompardo's Palace [es] (another important landmark in the city).[35] The baths function was the purification of all visitors to the city. Nowadays, the baths are not in use, though are a tourist and historical attraction.[36]
Other landmarks are theMuseum of Arts and Popular Customs, theInternational Museum of Naïf Art,San Andrés's Chapel, theProvincial Museum of Jaén (which shelters an important collection of archaeological Iberian remains),Saint Ildefonso's church,La Magdalena church, etc.
The most important event is the International Piano Competition Premio Jaén (in Spanish: Concurso Internacional de Piano Premio Jaén) that is the oldest and most important piano competition in Spain. It started in 1953 with Pablo Castillo García-Negrete, an architect who began to donate the first cash prizes of only some thousands of pesetas. Nowadays the prize consist of €57,000 and the recording of classical music albums in professional studios. The last winner of this significant competition was the Chinese pianist Yin Yu Qin, in 2008, in the fiftieth competition.
There are other events such as the Ciclos de Rock and the Lagarto Rock Festival.
The language spoken in Jaén is the official language of Spain, Spanish. The variety of Spanish spoken in this province displays some of the characteristics ofAndalusian speech, such as dropping of final -s in plural formation:gafa for gafas (and consequent final vowel opening) in the word "glasses", or dropping of /d/ in intervocalic position in regular participles of verbs: e.g.acabao foracabado. Some of these variants can be consulted in theDiccionario de Vocabulario Andaluz compiled by the local lexicographer Alcalá Venceslada, which was reprinted by the University of Jaén some years ago. This dictionary also compiles some other variants of Andalusian present in other parts of the autonomous community.
There are different expressions typical of the area, namely the interjection "¡ea!" (also present in other dialectal variants) which has no particular exact meaning or "¡lavística!" /la'vistika/, which is believed to be a contraction of the expression "laVírgen de Tíscar", a popular virgin of the province, although there are no exact data to confirm the origin of the last expression which is, nevertheless, widespread among speakers of the province.
Feria de San Lucas: On 18 October Jaén celebrates its biggest festivity. It lasts more than a week where jienenses and visitors can enjoy music, Sevillanas dancing, gastronomy, culture and tradition.
Romeria de Santa Catalina: Procession in the hill with the same name where the Castle is located to honour the Saint Patron of the City. It is typical to eat sardines and barbecue in the forest around the Castle.
San Anton: The 16 January it is celebrated the fires ofSan Anton. In the different neighbourhoods there are built bonfires and people eat and sing around them celebrating the beginning of the year. Also the International Urban Race of San Anton takes place that night, the fifth in the Spanish Ranking of Athleticism.
Virgen de la Capilla: The 11 June Jaén celebrates the appearance of the Virgin Mary in the city. A weekend where there are flower offerings and a Virgin procession, as well as traditional activities to show the culture of the city.
The tradition of celebrating the Holy Week in the city started in the Middle Ages, and nowadays it has been declared "Bien de Interés Turístico-Cultural Andaluz" since 2006 and "Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional de Andalucía". From Palm Sunday until Resurrection Sunday 17 catholic brotherhoods carry out their processions through the streets of Jaén. Its most well known procession features an image known as "the grandfather" , which parades around the city center during the early hours of good Friday, otherwise known as "la madrugá".
Jaén's gastronomy is varied, emphasising local dishes such as thepipirrana (tomato, green peppers, breadcrumbs, garlic shoots, olive oil, vinegar, salt and hard-boiled egg); "spinach a la Jaén" (garlic, croûtons, spiced sausage, bayleaf, egg, orange zest and vinegar); "rice a la Jaén" (very weak), "veal with chopped garlic", "trout from the rivers of Jaén" (trout, butter, chunks of ham with bacon, parsley, white wine and salt), "ajo blanco a la Jaén" (raw almond, olive oil, eggs, garlic, salt, vinegar and water).
Among the most well-known confectioneries of Jaén is "rice pudding", "gachas of Jaén" (a sort of porridge), "pestiños", "gusanillos" and "ochíos".
In Jaén, eatingtapas is common; there are numerous bars where, when purchasing a beer, the customer also receives a free snack to accompany their drink. The tapas vary from place to place and in some bars it is possible to choose from a tapas menu, though this is not normally the case.
Jaén has 26 service lines that connect the various neighbourhoods of the capital, being able to use the metro card consortium. Buses are characterised by their yellow colour. Jaén has frequent connections toGranada,Málaga,Córdoba and other Spanish cities from its central bus station, placed in the city centre. Jaén Bus Station has been declared "Bien de Interes Cultural" due to its modern representative arquitecture.
Thetram system in Jaén opened in 2011 and within two weeks was stopped. The tranvía has yet to resume services, although there was talk of reinstalling the service in 2021, it is not yet underway.
TheUniversity of Jaén currently consists of approximately 18,000 students and 27 degree courses. This university is present in the city, in the Campus "Las Lagunillas", and also inÚbeda andLinares with some of the degree courses. It is a modern university, founded in 1993, and has large foreign student population. The university has signed international exchanges with The United States of America, Asia, several American countries and a great Erasmus experience within more than 15 European countries.
The city has two major sporting facilities: the Fuentezuelas and the Salobreja, together with the university sports facilities. Trekking and climbing associations also exist, such as El Lagarto and Jabalcuz.
TheVía Verde del Aceite a former railway that ran from Jaén to Puente Genil in the province of Córdoba, is now used for recreational cycling walking and running.
There are various competitions which have a great international importance, for example, those related to chess and athletics.[citation needed]
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