Hinojares

by Saskia Mier

Hinojares is the smallest town in the Jaén province, acquiring its name during Muslim rule, due to the abundance of fennel (hinojo) growing in its municipal district. Part of its charm lies in it being within the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, along with unique rural accommodations decorated with flower pots and fruit trees. The town has approximately 350 inhabitants.

HISTORY

Los Castellones de Ceal is one of the most important Iberian settlements in its vicinity. The origin of this settlement lies in the control of the commercial route that introduced Greek manufactured products from the Levante into the Guadalquivir Valley. The remains of walls and residential buildings are situated on a spur with a circular plateau. The study of the Iberian phase of the necropolis (an elaborate cemetery), with graves where weapons and Greek pottery were foundr, indicate the presence of powerful aristocratic characters in this town.

This settlement’s first occupation was at the end of the seventh or sixth century BC. Later, it was abandoned until the Iberian settlement was built in the fourth century BC, which lasted until the Roman Republican stage. The origin of the current population of Hinojares is uncertain, as it is not mentioned in the medieval documents of the Christian reconquest of the Sierra of Quesada-Cazorla, though the territory in which it is located belonged to Quesada after the reconquest. However, in its municipal district, there are villages and farmhouses who are named in the chronicles of the Castilian conquest. During this period, the population moved from the mountain to the valley. One of these examples is Cuenca, which was converted into a village of Quesada in 1257. The town was protected in part by the ruggedness of the hill and by a wall with at least four towers. Chíllar had a similar layout, which in 1245 was still a castle, and in 1257, was handed over as a village to Quesada.

Hinojares may have been a farmhouse or a new foundation in the valley after the Castilian conquest of these lands. Until 1648, it depended on Quesada, it then became a village of Pozo Alcón. In 1690, it obtained the title of town and its independence from Pozo Alcón. This title was coupled with the granting of temporary dominion of the habit of Santiago to Don Íñigo Rodulfo Fernández de Angulo y Sandoval, who asked King Charles II nt him the town name of Hinojares. This title ed to the noble house of the Count of Arenales, who requested of the King that the title of Hinojares remain for the eldest sons of his house. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Marquis of Guadalcázar e Hinojares was made the honorary Lord of the town of Hinojares.

THINGS TO SEE

Iglesia de San Marcos  
The Iglesia de San Marcos (church) was built at the end of the seventeenth century, with externals wall that had only a few or small circular or rectangular openings, and a side access door devoid of any ornamentation. It is completed by The bell tower is a simple the extension of the trancept wall supporting two bells that give the impression of a more substantial belfry. Inside this single nave church is adapted to the shape of a Latin cross and has an altarpiece of Renaissance origin and a white marble baptismal font which its parishioners hold in great esteem.

Ayuntamiento
The Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) is along the same lines of architectural austerity, without concessions to decoration and aesthetics. It has three storeys with lintelled openings. The opening with the greatest relief is the balcony on the first floor, in a vertical line with the access door, and crowned by a small attic with a clock that imitates that of the town halls colonized in the eighteenth century.

Centro de Interpretación de Cerámica
The Ceramic Interpretation Centre came about because of two workshops held in 2006 and 2008, inspired by the remains of Iberian ceramics found in the nearby deposits of Los Castellones de Ceal. During these workshops an approach to the customs of this ancient culture was attempted and, above all, to recover the peculiar art of Iberian ceramics. The Centre holds exact reproductions of this style along with a burial which is also recreated (in this culture, the deceased were cremated, their ashes collected and deposited in urns). Depending on their social status or trade, along with the funerary urn, other objects were left. In some tombs, blacksmith utensils, vessels, and even pieces of Greek ceramics have been found, which proves the important trade role that the Iberian town of Ceal had in ancient times. The town was at a strategic point on the inland route with the coast of Málaga, Granada, Almería, and Murcia. In this settlement, Phoenician, Greek, and Carthaginian merchants who went to the Cástulo mines in Linares were given protection and permission to sell, buy, or exchange (barter) their products (metal and grain surpluses) with the locals.

THINGS TO SEE OUTSIDE THE TOWN

Los Castellones de Ceal
This Iberian fortified settlement, (oppidum) of Los Castellones de Ceal occupied a strategic position between the Iberian territories of the Bastetanos, with a capital in Baza, and the Oretanos, with their capital in Linares. It is typically situated on a limestone plateau overlooking the Guadiano Menor valley and the hamlet of Ceal. The oppidum consisted of a walled town and a necropolis. A tomb excavated in the necropolis has been compared with the famous Iberian tomb at Toya. The earliest part of the settlement dates to the seventh century BC and the latest to the second century BC, during the Roman period, at which time a fire devastated the town.

Chíllar y Mesto Salt Flats
Part of the attraction of the area for the Iberians and the Romans may have been the saltwater springs. There are two in the Hinojares area, the ‘Chíllar’ salt flats to the south and the ‘Mesto’ flats to the north. Both were in operation until 2007, producing salt from the mineral rich waters that bubbled out of the earth. At one point, much of the salt produced was used to supplement animal feed and cure the local jamón (ham).

NATURAL AREAS

Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas
With a total surface area of 209,920ha and covering almost a fifth of Jaén province, this is Spain’s largest protected area and one its most extensive forested zones. Located in eastern Jaén province, it connects the Sierra Morena and the Subbética mountain ranges. The highest peak in this immense park is Pico Empanada at 2,107m and the entire park is higher than 600m.
Recognising its exceptional ecological importance, the area was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1983 and created as a Natural Park in 1989. First impressions of the park may be of barren rocky crests and vast pine forests, but the area’s botanical importance within Andalucía is matched only by the Sierra Nevada Natural Park, with a fifth of the vascular plants in the Iberian peninsula found in the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park. It is also home to 51 species of mammals, 185 birds, 21 reptiles (including an endemic lizard), 12 amphibians, 11 fish, and one of the highest numbers of butterfly species in the Iberian Peninsula, with 112 varieties found here. More>

Nacimiento del Turillas
The Turrillas River is the most conclusive natural element in the structure of the term of Hinojares. It determines the terrain of the natural corridor that originated the ‘path’ that explains the municipality history and very existence. Its official birth is in Siete Fuentes, at the upper end of the village of Cuenca, where a spring of fresh and crystalline water begins to give life to the valley. However, its first waters come from a few kilometres above, the humble Arroyo de las Palomas being its authentic precursor. Its usual flow filters halfway through but, during heavy rains, the stream plunges down an impressive gorge, to reach the village. Located to the north-east of the town.

BUS SERVICE

There is a bus service from Hinojares to Jaén. More>

GASTRONOMY

Visitors to Hinojares can try traditional dishes such as andrajos (pasta stew), ajo hachero (garlic paste spread on bread) and talarines (pasta stew served with wild hare, partridge, or wild ceps). Sweet treats include torta de San Marcos (layered cake), roscos fritos (aniseed doughnuts), and magdalenas (muffins).

FESTIVALS

Popular festivals in Hinojares are the Fiesta de San Antón, Fiesta de San Marcos, Fiestas en Honor al Santo Cristo del Perdón and Semana Santa. More> More>

WEATHER FORECAST

The weather forecast for the next few days for Hinojares. More>

TOURIST OFFICE

The tourist office of Hinojares is in the Town Hall. More>

NEARBY PLACES

The neighbouring villages to Hinojares are Pozo Alcón and Huesa.