Linares, Jaén

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linares is a city located in the Andalusian province of Jaén, Spain. It is considered the second most important city in that province and had a population of 60,622 in the most recent census. The altitude is 419 meters and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 sq. km. It is located on kilometer 120 on the Valencia-Córdoba highway (N-322) and is 51 kilometers from the capital, Jaén. See Linares

The city is well connected to the rest of Spain. The Autovia de Andalucia, NIV Madrid-Cádiz, is located 12 kilometers to the west at Bailén. There is a railroad station at Linares-Baeza, with lines connecting Madrid and Cádiz, and Madrid-Granada-Almería.

Linares dates to antiquity and earned much of its revenue from the lead mines located there. It was also at Linares that Carthaginian general Hannibal married the local Iberian princess Himilce on the eve of the Second Punic War.

Around the middle of the nineteenth century Linares became an important mining center with lead mines nearby. The smelting of lead, the manufacture of lead sheets and pipes, and the production of by-product silver from the lead ores led to a significant population increase. The 6,000 inhabitants in 1849 became 36,000 in 1877. This commercial and industrial growth brought the concession of the title of city in 1875.

Glazed ceramic tile tableau celebrating the apparition in 1227 of the Virgin Mary in Linares.

Until recently Linares was heavily involved in the mining and smelting of lead and the production of gunpowder, dynamite and rope were staples of the local economy. The last mine closed in 1991. Today the mines have been abandoned but Linares is home to Santana Motors which produces all-terrain vehicles for the Spanish Army such as the Anibal model. There is also a factory producing trains (CAF), another one producing components for wind turbines (Grupo Daniel Alonso y Gamesa, and a beet sugar plant (Azucareras Reunidas de Jaen S.A.), which now produces biodiesel from colza oil, palm oil, soybeans, and sunflower oil.

Linares is also the place where the annual Linares chess tournament is held.

The bull ring in Linares is famous for the death of bullfighter Manolete (Manuel Rodríguez). On the 28th of August every year, people place flowers on his statue in Linars. Manolete's death is remembered in the ring by putting a bunch of roses in the place where he fell.

Linares is the birthplace of classical guitarist Andrés Segovia and the singer Raphael.