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Located 22 and 32 km from Baeza and Ubeda, respectively, the town of Linares is one of the largest of the province of Jaén, as far as number of inhabitants and extension are concerned.
Located to the north-west of Jaén Province, it has a privileged location as it is found in the eastern sector of Sierra Morena and at the top of the Depression of Guadalquivir.
Today, it’s a commercial and industrial centre, as they cover the most important shops and factories, but traditionally it was an outstanding mineral core, especially of copper mining.
Although Linares did not have a long historic record, as the first documents date back to before the Reconquist, however, an important archaeological site called Catulus, one of the most significant cities of Roman Hispania, existed around them.
During the Middle Ages, Linares was under Baeza’s care and was part of his extrampurous territory. It was only after the mid-19th century that his town became important thanks to his mineral industry. In 1875, Alfonso XII gave him the title of his town. Nevertheless, with his findings that lead was a toxic material for some of his main uses, such as production of pipes, and his prices and his gradual closure of his mines, and his last closure in 1991.
Although Linares isn’t a monumental town as such, it has a varied set of buildings and areas of interest that you can visit as the Paseo de Linarejos, town hall square, Church of Santa María, Raphael museum, Andrés Segovia and the Marqueses de Linares hospital.
Carmen Linares, Raphael, Andrés Segovia or Sebastian Palomo Linares are some of the characters that have been born in Linares.
If you have plans to visit Linares, from Ubeda you have to take the N-322 and A-32 and from Baeza to A-316.