Linares, Jaén

Linares
City

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Marquis of Linares Hospital

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Coat of arms
Linares

Location in Spain

Coordinates: 38°05′N 3°38′W / 38.083°N 3.633°W / 38.083; -3.633Coordinates: 38°05′N 3°38′W / 38.083°N 3.633°W / 38.083; -3.633
Country  Spain
Autonomous Community  Andalusia
Province  Jaén
Comarca Sierra Morena
Government
 • Type Mayor-council
 • Body Ayuntamiento de Linares
 • Mayor Juan Fernández Gutiérrez (PSOE)
Area
 • Total 197.5 km2 (76.3 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL) 419 m (1,375 ft)
Population (2007)
 • Total 61,347
 • Density 310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 23700
Area code(s) +34 (Spain) + (Jaén)
Glazed ceramic tile tableau celebrating the apparition in 1227 of the Virgin Mary in Linares.

Linares (Spanish pronunciation: [liˈnaɾes]) 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 62,347 in the most recent census. The altitude is 419 metres (1,375 feet) and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 square kilometres (75.35 sq mi). It is located on kilometer 120 on the Valencia-Córdoba highway (N-322) and is 51 kilometres (32 miles) from the capital, Jaén.[1]

Overview

The city is well connected to the rest of Spain. The Autovia de Andalucia, NIV Madrid-Cádiz, is located 12 km (7 miles) to the west at Bailén. There is a railroad station at Linares-Baeza, with lines connecting Madrid and Cádiz, and Madrid-Granada-Almería.

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

The Linares Advanced Technical College is located in Alfonso X "the Wise" Street and offers a wide range of engineering studies, belonging to the University of Jaén since 1 July 1993. The Scientific-Technological Campus is still under construction.

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

History

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.

Economy

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, as well as Santana Motor, the former producer of all-terrain vehicles for the Spanish Army which was recently shut down due to the economic recession. 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.

Personalities

The bull ring in Linares is famous for the death in 1947 of bullfighter Manolete (Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez). On 28 August every year, people place flowers on his statue in Linares. 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, singer Raphael and the hometown of jazz vocalist Virginia Maestro and Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido, who was beatified on Saturday 12 June 2010 in Linares.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Linares is twinned with:

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Linares : Situación
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