Contact Details
Fax: 953 302 395
Description
Cárcheles is a small municipality made up of fusion of Carchel and Carchelejo carried out in 1974. It is located in the south of the province of Jaén, in the heart of Sierra Sur, occupying the northeastern slope of the Sierras de los Grajales and of Alta Coloma until its municipal end to the Guadalbullon River.
The olive tree marks the life of their people, constituting the economic pillar of the municipality. Cárcheles oil is included in the designation of origin "Sierra Magina." The pig processing meat industry is also of great importance.
The relief is abrupt and mountainous. It has a wide variety of natural sites such as the Barrio del Monastery, the Cueva del Puerto de las Palomas, Cazalla and the Convent. Ideal sites to take excursions and to which you can go using all kinds of transport.
Is part of
AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT
MORE INFORMATION
Culture
From its artistic heritage stands the church of Our Lady of Angels of Neoclassical style Carchelejo and the church of Our Lady of Remedies de Cárchel, raised by an old visionary cemetery
- Church Our Lady of the Angels of Carchelejo, built at the end of the 18th century, in a neoclassical style, it rises on a previous 16th century that had suffered severe destruction as a result of the 1680 earthquake.
- Church of Our Lady of the Remedies of Cárchel, rectangular floor and neoclassical style, is the first quarter of the 18th century although it is built on previous walls of good larger armchairs, belonging to another ancient church. Next to an ancient courtyard of the church, a visigode tombstone appeared in the 1960s, documenting the existence of a visigode burial in the area. This stone is currently exposed in the Visigoda Room of the Jaén Museum.
- Ruins of the Castlejo de Cárchel, of Muslim origin and in its surroundings have appeared a multitude of Spanish-Muslim ceramic remains. Among the archaeological remains found in the area a head of a clay figure, which possibly indicates the survival of the Iberian exvotes in the Muslim era, is particularly striking.
- Ruins of Castellón, archeological complex in Cazalla formed by a necropolis with about 15 tombs perfectly identified. The existence of a village next to the necropolis and a fortress or turret, now called Castellón, is found.
Both castles served as a defense of these valleys in times of struggle between Christians and Muslims. Over time, the ruins and the memory of a time in which Sumuntán (now Cárcheles) was a militarized zone because it was a border between Castile and the Nazari kingdom of Granada. In addition, each village has its hermitage (that of San Marcos).
- Seafarers and sources, built in stone, which remember the importance of beasts in rural life until motor vehicles began to replace them. The Fountain of Carchelejo, composed of six pilons, stands out.
- Construction of dry stone, a technique that does not use any type of argamase to unite the stones, is something characteristic of this area. They used it both to build monuments, houses or walls on the linds of their lands.
- Other historical remains: Cazalla Convent, sacred place for the various cultures that passed by here (celtiberos, Iberos, Carthaginians, Romans, Muslims, Catholic orders), the present Cortijo del Convent atesores an amazing historical legacy to know of which stands out the facade of the ancient monastery of the Basili (XVII- XVII- XVIII centuries), remains ofteagles (tiles) Roman in the Sale of the Ramona.
Nature
Cárcheles is located in the region of Sierra Magina, a mountain massif integrated into the Subbetic System and extending to the centre and south of the province of Jaén. The municipality of Cárcheles, until reaching the river Guadabullón, set the limits of Sierra Magina on the west side.
The land of the town, although mountainous, the slopes are soft and very arid, in which the preferred crop is the rain olive tree. Although there are also almonds and cherry, or low thyme, lentils or cornicabres.
The most characteristic fauna of the area are rabbits, hares, foxes, as well as a wide variety of rapacious birds that nest in the many rocky areas of the area.
The municipality of Cárcheles has many places in which you can make interesting walks and excursions, both on foot and by bicycle. Among them are the Barranco del Monastery, the Cave of the port of the Palomas, Cazalla and the Convent.
The town council has a "Guide to Carcheles trails" which are part of the project "Approaching Landscapes" which has consisted in the recovery and value of traditional roads, by creating interpretative routes of its heritage.
Parties and Events
Among the festive events of Cárcheles are the following:
- Patronal parties of Carchelejo, are held in mid-August in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary and of San Roque. To highlight the "Advances of Moors and Christians" in which the embassies or representations have a literary origin, a dramatic genre related to the Romancero and the Baroque theatre. A celebration that has been declared Good of Regional Tourist Interest of Andalusia.
- Virgin of the Remedies, is held in the town of Cárchel in late August.
- San Antoniowhich is held on June 13, and is a night party around a small altar of the saint until the arrival of the Brotherhood of the Virgin of the Head.
- San Antón, takes place on January 17, but the night before they become lumbres, and the neighbors gather around them until high hours of the night. For a few years now, the tradition of the "San Antón cochinillo," which is raised by the village's neighbours throughout the year, has been restored.
- The Lumbres of Saint Luciawhich take place on December 13.
Gastronomy
The traditional gastronomy of Cárcheles is marked by the culture of olive oil and by the products derived from the slaughter of the pig, while at the same time it is closely linked to the religious festivities, and the rhythm of the tasks of the crops in the field.
So, during the collection of the olive, dishes like the crumbs or birdsand are consumed from the killing: chorizos, morcillas, ham...
On Carnival Sunday it is made a cooked where a filling has been prepared before. During Lent and Holy Week, there is a predominance of lent bakes and dishes as can be "sour cod".
With the arrival of the summer, dishes made with vegetable products, such as the salads and the famous "piirrana".
On the feast of All Saints, the Gachas and cod.
Other dishes are: "carneret" which is made with olive oil, picatostes, garlic... but without meat; and "overuse"where the base is the beans.
History
The first documentary references of the peoples date from the second half of the 13th century, when the King Alfonso X The Wise, donated to the bishop of Jaen the castle of Cárchel. However, we find evidence and traces that will discover the passage through these places of ancient civilizations.
There are authors who identify Cárchel as "Karka", old city, bastena (Ibero village).
Throughout the first century, various Roman settlements occupied the territory and later it was the Visigoths who settled on these lands.
In the 1960s, a visigoda stone, well preserved, and several burials appeared next to the church of Cárchel. This stone is currently in the Provincial Museum of Jaén.
The Muslims called "Sumuntan" to the lowlands of Magina. The stay in these territories ranges from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries.
During these five centuries they substantially improved the agricultural system received from the Romans: they improve the irrigation systems, getting better use of the water (construction of sows, wells, aljibes, lacquers...) and also incorporate new crops, fruit and vegetables mainly.
When Christian occupation begins, Sumultan (current Cárcheles) is the border between Castile and the Nazari kingdom of Granada. As a result of the militarization, military strengths are maintained and improved, but the region is depopulated and it is not until the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Kings when the repopulation begins, passing these peoples to belong to Cambil for many years. At the end of the 18th century, Cárchel, Carchelejo and Cazalla are segregated and formed as their own entities for the first time, and the City Council is located in Carchelejo.
The maximum demographic splendor of the two nuclei begins to decline from the civil war. Already in the 1950s, and much more in the 1960s, there is a strong emigration caused by the poor agricultural development of the region, which is typical of all areas dependent on a single crop, making the economy very vulnerable. Against this economic and demographic reality, in the year 1974 are merged again the two municipalities of Cárchel and Carchelejo forming one with the name of Cárcheles, as it had been until 1843.
In this municipality
5
Accommodations
2
Restaurants
5
Events
