After leaving Granada, we headed towards Cordoba. We were impressed by the endless olive groves that stretched between the two cities. We only interrupted our journey for a special stop and visited the city of Jaén. This town, surrounded by vast olive groves, impressed us from the first moment with its houses built into the hillside and the sight of the castle towering above it, which proudly guards the tranquility of the area.
The history of Jaén dates back to ancient times, as the Iberians established an important center here, and the Romans developed it into a flourishing city under the name Auringis. Under Muslim rule, it became known as Jayyan and it was then that the defense system was built that made the city a key point in the border region. The Christian armies recaptured it in 1246 under the command of Francis III. Under Ferdinand and for centuries thereafter, Jaén remained one of the most important strategic bases of the Kingdom of Castile against Moorish Granada.
The city’s most impressive building is the huge Jaén Cathedral, one of the purest and most beautiful examples of the Spanish Renaissance thanks to the work of the architect Andrés de Vandelvira. Another must-see is the Castillo de Santa Catalina, which sits on a hilltop above the city and offers endless views of the Andalusian landscape. Beneath the city lies one of the largest and best-preserved Arab baths in Europe, the Baños Árabes, which are located in the basement of the Villavicencio Palace and faithfully evoke the medieval Muslim bathing culture.
The city is also proud of its famous natives, including the excellent 16th-century architect Andrés de Vandelvira, who, although not born here, fundamentally defined the city’s current image with his work. Jaén still lives in the public consciousness as the world capital of olive oil, where every stone of history and the silvery leaves of thousand-year-old trees tell of the glory of the past.
