The best places to see and visit in Baños de la Encina in Jaén

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Encina baths in the province of Jaén in Andalusia

How many times will we have passed on the road A-4 way of Jaen and a town with a beautiful castle that dominates the landscape will have caught our attention.

Next time we stop, we usually say; Well, this time we decided to meet him, and it really was worth the stop on our route to visit the nearbyÚbeda Y Baeza.

Encina Baths is found in Sierra Morena , next swamp of Rumblar in the province of Jaén, and I tell you that in addition to a caliphal castle, it has a beautiful church and a hermitage with an impressive baroque dressing room.

Castle of Baños de la Encina in the province of Jaén

The name of Bathrooms it comes from the aquifer richness of its subsoil, with natural sources and multiple wells, and of the oak, by tradition that tells that the Virgin It appeared on a holm oak.

In a first approach to Attractions of Baños de la EncinaI will tell you that in the Main Square, called today Constitution Plaza, you will find the Town Hall and thechurch of San Mateo and some manor houses very nice.

In the center of the square, a source with the image of the Virgin of the Encina high up

From there comes the Santa Maria street, at the end of which is the Benalúa Arch that will take you to Bury al-Hamman Castle, and in the opposite direction, the Hermitage and dressing room of Jesús del Llano.

Historic center of Baños de la Encina in Jaén

It is curious to see how all the inhabitants of Encina Baths they have been involved collaborating in the conservation of their historical heritage, so that in 1969 it was declared Historic Artistic Set.

Best places to see in Baños de la Encina

Here are some of the places we saw on our visit, but there are many more that justify knowing this beautiful town.

San Mateo Church

The Parish Church of San Mateo It is from the 15th century and Gothic.

Commanded to build by him King Ferdinand IIIIt has two important access doors, the main one known as Gate of Forgivenessin style mannerist with two shields on top of it, and the Mudejar Gothic side door, known as Sun Gate.

Church of San Mateo in Baños de la Encina in Jaén

Stresses the bell tower with Renaissance finishes, whose construction began with a circular base, but soon became an octagonal prism.

The bell tower climbs a beautiful spiral staircase.

The church has a single nave with 45 meters in length and 20 in height, with a magnificent altarpiece work of Francisco de Palma, which was done after the Spanish Civil War, since the previous one was destroyed,.

As a curiosity, tell you that the underground crypts were used during the aforementioned Civil war as a bomb shelter.

Another of the most significant pieces is the Baroque tabernacle, considered as a joinery jewel of Andalusian sacred art, which dates from the 17th century and is built in ebony, ivory, silver and hawksbill.

It is said that the door of Sanctuary It was painted by Murillo or artists from your school.

Castle of Baños de la Encina in the province of Jaén

As he pulpit as the baptismal font They are from the 18th century and are made with red and black goat marble.

Castle of Baños de la Encina

It is an impressive caliphal castle that dominates the panorama of Encina Baths and is considered the oldest in Europe.

This castle has been preserved in its original state since the twelfth century, although it had an important reform in 2007 to protect the walls as much land had accumulated during the time when it was used as a cemetery.

This reform brought to light the remains of the different civilizations that have passed through this hill, from a Roman mausoleum with remains of columns, to objects from the Iberian era.

Castle of Baños de la Encina in the province of Jaén

The name of the castle, Bury Al-Hamman, it means bath tower, which is as it appears in medieval writings.

He castle of Baños de la Encina It was initially intended for quartering of Berber troops fighting against Christians.

It is built in tabiyya, a mixture of clay, sand, lime and very small stones, typical of Arab constructions, with a curious oval shape that resembles a boat, with an area of ​​100 meters long and 46 meters wide.

He castle It has 14 square towers, although originally there were 15, and two of them defend the entrance door, which is formed by a double horseshoe arch.

Later on one of the original towers the Christian tower of the Tribute, with semi-cylindrical shape and two floors, and with the entrance to it at the height of the first floor.

Castle of Baños de la Encina in the province of Jaén

This tower that looks inside the town is also known as fat battlement, and it is a Christian modification, since in the muslim castles There was no such tower.

From here you have beautiful views, both of the castle's courtyard, and the town of Encina Baths.

To get to know the castle you have to sign up for guided tours that cost 3 euros, with a discount for children and seniors +65.

Here you have the information with schedules to visit the castle of Baños de la Encina.

Hermitage of Cristo del Llano in Baños de la Encina in Jaén

Hermitage of Cristo del Llano

This beautiful hermitage was built at the end of the 17th century in the upper part of the town, on an old cattle resting place.

The building shows a nave with a Latin cross plan, which is decorated with paintings that allude to the texts of the Gospel.

The most important and spectacular you will find inside, with a baroque rococo dressing room Really spectacular, which they say is one of the most beautiful in Andalusia.

The altarpiece communicates directly with the dressing room-tower which is open to the main nave by an arch from which you can see the entire interior of the hermitage.

Shrine of the Hermitage of Cristo del Llano in Baños de la Encina

Inside the dressing room you will find the image on the cross of the Jesus of Jesus of the Plain, which is the pattern of Encina Baths.

The image is surrounded by an impressive and lush ornamentation of polychrome plasterwork, almost 3,000 motifs say that there is in this dressing room.

There is not a free hole, everything is full of plant motifs, scrolls, angels, busts of the virgin and saints, as well as portholes with real or simulated stained glass windows, and mirrors so that light is reflected and of greater grandeur to space .

The author is unknown, although it is attributed to sculptors from the Baroque school of Lucena Y Priego de Córdoba.

Look at the ladder that comes out of the sacristy and the access door to the neo-Mudejar style dressing room, which is the original one from the 18th century, which is carved in wood and has geometric motifs with small embedded mirrors.

Hermitage of Cristo del Llano in Baños de la Encina in Jaén

Legend has it that one night, being nailed Jesus of the Plain on a solid silver cross, they disappeared from the hermitage, which was denounced, but the Christ with his cross they did not appear.

One day a phosphorescent light began to be seen in a nearby landfill and the strange neighbors went to dig up and try to see what that light produced.

To everyone's surprise they found the body of the Christ and the cross split into pieces.

Since then he was called the Christ of the Light, although today this name is hardly used, but there is still talk of the great luminosity that enters through the skylight of his dressing room.

And as a curiosity to tell you that, although the name of Christ of the Light do not keep, it is very common to give the girls of the town the name of Mary of the Light.

Street of Santa María in Baños de la Encina in Jaén

Windmill of the Holy Christ

This eighteenth-century mill of Manchego style you will find in the highest part of the town.

The tower of Windmill of Baños de la Encina It is divided into three sections: the block, the bed and the room where the cereal was ground.

Inside you can see an exhibition called Stories of the wind, with the history of the mills and how the cereals have been working since the Neolithic until today.

Palaces in Baños de la Encina

Encina Baths has amount of palace houses that you will find during your walk through its streets.

We highlight some of the most significant ones:

Palace House of the Molina de la Cerda in Baños de la Encina

Palace house of the Molina de la Cerda

This house was built in 1724 and belonged to a family of great purchasing power, which belonged to the Holy Inquisition, as seen in the heraldic element in the upper window.

The facade is very sober, but the door is adintelada and has two Tuscan columns on a side on a pedestal.

This is the house that most represents the splendor of Encina Baths in this age.

House of the Widows

This palace house is in the Main Square in front of the building of Town Hall of Baños de la Encina, and was built at the beginning of the 20th century with the money obtained in the era of mining boom in the town.

Main Square of Baños de la Encina

Palace of the Priors

It is in the San Mateo street, next to town hall and it is from the 17th century, and the priors resided there.

Its main facade is made of stone and the bars with rosettes stand out, as well as a room that faces the street, which was once a chapel.

Town Hall

This building currently houses the Town Hall of Baños de la Encina and it was built in the 16th century.

On this facade, the entrance stands out with a semicircular arch and a roofed balcony with wooden beams at the top.

Consistorial House of Baños de la Encina

Its sober facade shows a royal shield emblazoned of Carlos I.

House of the Delgado de Castilla

In this manor house stands out its cover with a shield on the lintel of the door and two disc-shaped compositions with inscriptions on both sides.

The cornice is held by two pilasters with geometric motifs.

But during your walk through this beautiful town of Jaén you will see other palace houses, such as theCasa de los Salido, Casa del Torreón Poblaciones Dávalos and Casa de Galindo,among other.

Encina baths in the province of Jaén in Andalusia

And finally, out of town, about four kilometers away you will find the Hermitage of the Virgen de la Encina of the thirteenth century, which also deserves a visit.

Guided tours in Baños de la Encina

Looking forward to your visit, in the Tourist Office (Avda. José Luis Messi s / n, Interpretation Center Tower of Remembrance) you can sign up for guided tours of Baños de la Encina, for what you have to book on the phone 953 613 338.

How to get to Baños de la Encina

If you come From Madrid, Encina Baths you will see it on the right shortly before reaching Bailén, and it is 53 kilometers north of Jaén, near prominent towns such as Úbeda Y Baeza.

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