Linares, Spain
Encyclopedia
Linares is a city located in the Andalusia
n 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 meters and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 km2. It is located on kilometer 120 on the Valencia-Córdoba highway (N-322) and is 51 kilometers from the capital, Jaén
.
The city is well connected to the rest of Spain. The Autovia de Andalucia, NIV Madrid-Cádiz, is located 12 kilometers to the west at Bailén
. There is a railroad station at Linares-Baeza, with lines connecting Madrid
and Cádiz
, and Madrid-Granada-Almería.
Linares dates to antiquity and earned much of its revenue from the lead mines located there. It was also at Linares that Carthaginian general Hannibal married the local Iberian princess Himilce on the eve of the Second Punic War
.
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.
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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 but Linares is home to Santana Motors which produces all-terrain vehicles for the Spanish Army such as the Anibal model. 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.
The Linares Advanced Technical College is located in Alfonso X "the Wise man" 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
is held.
The bull ring in Linares is famous for the death 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, June 12, 2010 in Linares.
, Poland
Castres
, France
Maule
, Chile
Nuevo León
, Mexico
Nariño, Colombia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
n province of Jaén, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. 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 meters and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 km2. It is located on kilometer 120 on the Valencia-Córdoba highway (N-322) and is 51 kilometers from the capital, Jaén
Jaén, Spain
Jaén is a city in south-central Spain, the name is derived from the Arabic word Jayyan, . It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia....
.
The city is well connected to the rest of Spain. The Autovia de Andalucia, NIV Madrid-Cádiz, is located 12 kilometers to the west at Bailén
Bailen
Bailen may refer to:* Bailén, a town in Jaén, Spain* Battle of Bailén of 1808* General Emilio Aguinaldo, Cavite, a town in the Philippines, which was formerly known as Bailen...
. There is a railroad station at Linares-Baeza, with lines connecting Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, and Madrid-Granada-Almería.
Linares dates to antiquity and earned much of its revenue from the lead mines located there. It was also at Linares that Carthaginian general Hannibal married the local Iberian princess Himilce on the eve of the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
.
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.
The Linares Advanced Technical College is located in Alfonso X "the Wise man" Street and offers a wide range of engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
studies, belonging to the University of Jaén
University of Jaén
The University of Jaén is a public university based in Jaén, Andalucía, Spain. It is a young university established by Law 5 / 1993 of the Andalusian Parliament of July 1, 1993. In addition to the principal campus, Campus Lagunillas, located in Jaén, the university has two satellite campuses in...
since 1 July, 1993. The Scientific-Technological Campus is still under construction.
Linares is also the place where the annual Linares chess tournament
Linares chess tournament
The Linares International Chess Tournament , is an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held...
is held.
The bull ring in Linares is famous for the death of bullfighter Manolete
Manolete
Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez , better known as Manolete, was a Spanish bullfighter.He rose to prominence shortly after the Spanish Civil War and is considered by some to be the greatest bullfighter of all time. His style was sober and serious, with few concessions to the gallery, and he...
(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
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
,singer Raphael
Raphael (singer)
For the French singer Raphael see Raphaël HarocheMiguel Rafael Martos Sánchez , often simply referred to as Raphael, is a worldwide acclaimed Spanish singer and television, film and theatre actor...
and the hometown of jazz vocalist Virginia Maestro
Virginia Maestro
Virginia Maestro Díaz is a Spanish singer-songwriter. She is the winner of Operación Triunfo 2008, a Spanish version of "Pop Idol"....
and Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido
Manuel Lozano Garrido
Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido , nicknamed Lolo, was a Spanish journalist and author and is now recognised as blessed by the Roman Catholic Church....
, who was beatified on Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Linares.
Sister cities
Tomaszów MazowieckiTomaszów Mazowiecki
Tomaszów Mazowiecki is a town in central Poland with 67,159 inhabitants . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , it was previously part of Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Castres
Castres
Castres is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Maule
Maule
Maule may refer to:Places* Maule Region, one of the 13 Regions that make up the Chilean territory* Maule River, river in Central Chile, which gives name to the Maule Region* Maule, Chile, commune and town of Talca province in the Maule Region of Chile...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Nariño, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...