Linares, Jaén
Linares | |
|---|---|
City Hall, Miner's Monument, Mining Derrick, Mining District, Hospital of the Marquis of Linares | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: La ciudad minera – The mining city | |
| Motto: Nunc coepi haec mutatio dexterae excelsi | |
Linares Location in Spain Linares Linares (Andalusia) Linares Linares (Province of Jaén (Spain)) | |
| Coordinates: 38°05′N 3°38′W / 38.083°N 3.633°W | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Andalusia |
| Province | Jaén |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Ayuntamiento de Linares |
| • Mayor | Raúl José Caro - Accino Menéndez (C's) |
| Area | |
• Total | 197.5 km2 (76.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation (AMSL) | 419 m (1,375 ft) |
| Population (2025-01-01) | |
• Total | 55,633 |
| • Density | 281.7/km2 (729.6/sq mi) |
| Demonym | linarense |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 23700 |
| Area code | +34 (Spain) + (Jaén) |
| Website | www.ciudaddelinares.es |
Linares (Spanish pronunciation: [liˈnaɾes]) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Jaén, Andalusia. It is the second-largest city in that province, with a population of 55,261 in the most recent census (2024). The altitude is 419 metres (1,375 feet) and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 square kilometres (75.35 sq mi).
Located on top an easily defendable terrace of the Guadalimar, the site of Castulo in the vicinity of Linares was an important mining center in the Upper Guadalquivir, both as an Oretani oppidum and as a Roman city. Losing population since the 3rd century CE, as well as local primacy (mint and bishopric) to Viatia (Baeza) in late antiquity, Castulo was largely abandoned and ruined by the 8th century, and only temporarily inhabited afterwards. Located some kilometres north of Castulo, Linares' origins lie on urban development around the Islamic fortress, although chronology is moot. First mentioned in 1152 under Castilian rule as a hamlet, Linares had consolidated as a sizeable rural settlement of Baeza by the turn of the 15th century. It received the privilege of township in 1565, thereby emancipating from Baeza.