Tourist Office
Plaza Constitución, 1
Tfno.: 953 678 540
http://www.turismobailen.es/es/
turismo@ayto-bailen.com
Description
The municipality of Bailén is located to the north of the province of Jaén, at the foot of Sierra Morena.
It is the natural passage of the communications that link the center and north of the peninsula to the South, and also the east to the west of Andalusia.
The occupation of its inhabitants alternates between activities related to olive and agriculture and industrial activity, especially in this regard the ceramic sector, both artisanal and industrial.
Among its monuments is the church of the Incarnation, built in the 15th century in the Gothic-isabelin style. The hermitage of Our Lady of Solitude (S. XV) and Gothic style are also highlighted; that of Jesus and Christ, both of Baroque style, and that of the Virgin of Zocueca, patron of the city.
Very interesting are the historical recreations that take place on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Bailén, which was waged in the framework of the Spanish War of Independence and which was the end of the Napoleonic hegemony in Europe.
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Culture
In literature, Benito Pérez Galdós gives the name Bailén to the fourth delivery of the National Episodes.
Within the city we must highlight the church of La Encarnación with more than 500 years old. And there are several hermites that are scattered by the municipal term: that of Soledad, which has a shrimp in plaster of Andalusian baroque; that of Jesus Nazarene, of Saint John the Evangelist and of Holy Christ.
The most recent construction is the Parish of San José Obrero, which was raised in the 1960s, and with a low relief on its façade by the sculptor José Antonio Rivas Fernández. Inside, a fresco painting by the famous painter Francisco Baños, representing the desposorios of the Virgin with San José.
On the walk known as "de las palmeras" we find the memorial of the Battle of Bailén, also by the artist José Antonio Rivas Fernández.
And the visit to the Museum of the Battle of Bailén: a striking building that recreates in plant the weapon leading to the battle: the cannon. Two parallel vaults in the adjacent gardens simulate the ammunition used by this artillery weapon. In its interior, six interconnected rooms show in an amena and didactic way the beginnings, causes and consequences of the War of Independence (1808-1814).
- Parish Church of the Incarnation.We are facing the most emblematic building of local architecture, made of red asperon stone cut into armchairs and started its construction in the 15th century following the canons of the style known as the Catholic Kings or Isabelino, corresponding to the trends marked in other Gothic churches of the province such as that of San Ildefonso de Jaén, Santiago de Andújar or La Concepción de Lopera. Romanesque, Gothic, rebirth and baroque converge in this church declared an Artistic Historical Monument on May 2, 1983. The Mausoleum with the mortal remains of General Don Francisco Castaños and Aragorri, Duke of Bailén and Marqués de Portugalete remain in this church since 1963, when he moved to Bailén from the Pantheon of Ilustrious Men in Madrid.
- House of Culture.This 19th century house is located in whatever the Jaén Road is; one of the main entrance doors to the city. It was used as a family house since the first third of the 20th century by its owner Don Juan Gracia Alonso, mayor of Bailén at that time, who in 1971 decided to keep inside this house the facade of whatever was the Ducal Palace of the Ponce de León, as the fortress was dismounted stone to stone until it was located on the Street of Our Father Jesus.
- Hermitage of the Holy Christ. On this occasion we find ourselves in the face of an 18th century building, which at another time did the role of school and which would later be donated by the families of Bailén, Corchado and Barreda to the co-fradry of the Santa Vera Cruz. Through a half-point arch, the cover gives us access to the temple to contemplate the most prominent element of it, the cover of a half-canyon centralized on the cruise and presbyter, with plant motifs such as decoration in which voluminous acanto leaves surround the shields, two of them supported by a few naive children.
- Hermitage of Our Father Jesus.The street that in the past would unite whatever the Royal High and the Bajo road is known by all with its ancient name as the Cuesta of Jesus, giving greater identity to this 18th century hermitage, which initially responded to the name of the hermitage of the Holy Christ of Nazareth. As we enter the rectangle that delimits its interior, we see two different areas in a presbyter with a half-barrel vault and a quadrangular space with a half-orange dome over four half-point arches. The pechines decorated with baroque plaster next to the oval shields with the symbols of the Passion of Christ adorn the oratory.
- La Soledad hermitage.The Gothic is reflected in the rectangular ship, segregated in four spaces by three pointed arches, all settled since the end of the XIV. Four centuries later we located the baroque-style camarina tower, where a pointed window serves as a link to the ship, from which in turn you can see that element. The altar presents to its left the access to the sacristy and to its right that of the shrimp, both of stone and intelated, discovering vegetable decorations in the vault.
- The Hermitage of Clean and Pure.That day of 1808, he would see the Spanish troops parading at his side until they reached the place from which they would defend themselves from the French offensives. A Galo general, known as Dupré, would be killed during the fight when he attacked the Spanish army with his coraceros, so he would be buried in this oratory because of his proximity to the battlefield. It was a small, poor, rustic and encalada hermitage that had been built at the end of the 15th century and whose name would refer to the image of the Immaculate Conception that it guarded within it.
- Sanctuary of the Virgin of Zocueca.Its building is in the year 1150, when a poor and thick hermitage for the Cross is raised by the MozArab Christians, where a small image of Mary was venerated for having protected its elders and later to them, by winning King Alfonso VII the fields of Bailen. From the end of the 19th century, and annually every last Sunday of September, the people of Bailén celebrate in this place the Romeria in honor of Our Lady the Virgin of Zocueca, patron of Bailen who would intercede in favor of this people in the contest of July 19, 1808.
Nature
Just 5 km away. of the city of Bailén, is located Burguillo Dehesa, ideal for the use of livestock (oxen and sheep) and the wood, obtained from pruning and used to make charcoal and pigeon for the braziers. This is the place that best reflects the natural characteristics of the area.
The Dehesa de Burguillos, next to the Rumblar River, is an ecological lung for the environment, a leisure space and an exemplary place for environmental education. It is located above the valley, in the foothills of Sierra Morena and very close to the natural park Sierra de Andújar.
It houses a Mediterranean forest in which the oaks, acuches, retamas, jars, and a fantastic riverside forest made up of alarms, willows and strawberries predominate. And in which we can see a varied fauna: nightingale, lavender, martin fisherman, swallows... We can also observe mammals such as the chandelier, the otter, boar, foxes and rabbits. We can also detect the presence of several raptures: leonate vulture, black vulture, real eagle or common mouse.
The presence of round, eroded rocks that are named after "bowling."
El Vivero or Parque de Eduardo Carvajal
This park of extraordinary botanical wealth, popularly known as "El Vivero," is worked between 1893 and 1895, when Mr Eduardo Carvajal would be mayor of Bailén and from whom he has inherited his name.
Inside you will find a wide variety of floral and arborea like the acacia of three thorns, the tree of love, rosals, American cane, cypress, alhelis, cineraria, carraspiques, sage, rosemary...
In addition, Bailén offers different tourists hiking routes in direct contact with nature:
- The Mill of Juan de las Vacas: for 9 kilometers by easy-to-reach trails, surrounded by oaks and jars, we will be able to admire the ruins of what was an ancient mill for the cereal while we are accompanied on our walk by a great diversity of birds.
- The Cerro de las Trincheras: on a comfortable 5 km tour we will observe what, according to popular custom, were trenches used in the Spanish Civil War. With a little luck we'll see some sour eagle or the mud baths of the boar.
- The Mirador de los Corrales: We increase the difficulty of the route to go from 260 to 400 meters high at a distance of just 3.5 km. As a curiosity as it is not usual, we will see on this path a tumble. Both the leonate and the black vulture will be the usual species on the itinerary, alternating with deer and bravo bulls.
- Cerro de los Burguillos: We will have to ascend, but soon we will reach this viewpoint, as the journey has only 2 kilometres. We will get a privileged view of the Jaén olive groves, an extensive gardener and animal species such as the field rabbit or the Iberian hare.
- River Rumblar: a pleasant walk of 6.6 km along a road that divides the dehesa into two portions and that runs in parallel to the seasonal stream of the Garnet, gives us the opportunity to contemplate numerous animal species and botanical relics until we reach the Rumblar River.
- The Barranco of Uncle Luis: the longest of the tours with 11.2 kilometers of length, allows to make it without any effort, as it is a smooth journey to an impressive descent that offers beautiful panorama of Sierra Morena and provides the possibility to admire deer and bulls.
Parties and Events
The local parties of Bailén are held from July 17 to 22, the 19th being the commemorative day of the battle of Bailén. The presence of military units in the days of the battle is very prominent and traditional. (especially the Guzmán el Bueno X, in Córdoba).
In October, groups of Historical Recreation from all over Spain move to Bailén to rebuild the battle with uniforms and weapons of the time.
The patron of Bailén is the Virgin of Zocueca on August 5, and the Romeria on the last Sunday of September, when they prosecute the patron to the Shrine of Zocueca, a village within the municipal term of Guarroman.
On May 1, San José, the feast of the neighborhood is celebrated.
Gastronomy
The location of Bailén has contributed to the fact that for a long time it has been stopped and fused for all those who were passing through this territory, maintaining up to this day an important host tradition.
In the traditional recipe of the dance cuisine we find the "Guiñapos," also known as "Andrajos," the "Potatoes with Caldo" or the "Popes to the Poor," all made with the oil obtained from the grinding of the olive of the Picual variety, and watered by the wines of this land.
All year round, you can make "tapestry routes" in which to taste, accompanied by a refreshing drink, the well-known "tapas" of each of the bars, taverns and plateaus that are distributed throughout the city.
You can also enjoy a formal meal in the city's restaurants, with traditional cuisine dishes incorporating some of them a current touch.
History
The final Iberian period belongs to the Battle between the Carthaginians of Asdrúbal and the Romans of Scipion, delivered in 208 a. C. in a place called "Baécula," which some historians have identified with Bailén.
The origin of the present Bailén is in the foundation of the Visigodo Monastery, which according to Rus de la Puerta and Ximena Jurado, would be the origin of the castle, turning the church into a mosque, and attributing its construction to the Omaya period, between 976 and 1002.
After the conquest of Fernando III in 1127, several are the occasions on which their lands are mentioned during the long process of the conquest of this area; thus, in the 12th century, it appears that it was donated in 1156 by Alfonso VII to be repopulated to Abdelazis de Baeza; then in 1157, it is again mentioned as a fortress not far from Baeza, to whose jurisdiction it belonged to the Alphoz of this area, appearing as one of its parishes in the relationship of 1311. Once again it appears when it was besieged in 1172, appearing on both occasions under the name of Baly; in the chronicle of the Conquista by Almería by Alfonso VII it appears under the name of Bealim, so it is likely that close to these two forms is the name used in Arabic.
Alfonso XI sold it in 1349 to Pedro Ponce de León, lord of Marchena, for 140,000 Maravedis. In 1481 it would pass to the Montemayor, and in the 16th century it would be the family to which it will belong until the 19th century.
The main event in his history is the Battle of July 19, 1808the first great defeat in the open field of Napoleon's troops, when the French army of General Dupont faced the Spanish troops of General Castaños. The victory led to a series of honors for Bailén, granting him the Central Supreme Board in 1809 the title "Very Noble and Leal," a distinction that Fernando VII ratified in 1813. In 1850, he received the title "City" by Elizabeth II, providing that all cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants should name "Bailén" as one of its three most important streets. Special mention is worth the Historical recreation of the Battle of Bailénwhich was first held in October 2005, an aperitif and an essay of the great celebration prepared with illusion throughout the town of the Bicentennial of the Battle of 1808.
In this municipality
6
Accommodations
12
Restaurants
19
Services
13
Events
