Tourist Attractions in Jaen

Jaén, chief town of its province and an old-established episcopal see, lies at the foot of the Sierra de Jabalcuz and Sierra de la Pandera, the slopes of which, to the south of the town, are covered with large plantations of olives. The province of Jaén is one of the largest olive-growing areas in the world.

History

There was a Carthaginian walled town here which was captured by the Romans and given the name of Auringis. The local silver-mines were already being worked in Roman times, and the town is still known as "silver Jaén". During the Moorish period it was capital of the kingdom of Jayyan, and after its recapture by Ferdinand III in 1246 it became an outpost of the Reconquista. In 1492 the Christian armies assembled here for the assault on Granada, the last Arab stronghold on the Iberian peninsula.