Castillo de Locubin
Castillo de Locubín is located to 68 kilometres from Jaén to the south-east, with a total area of 106 km2. It is strategic located in the centre of Andalucía and it takes an hour to drive to Córdoba, Granada and Jaén. Its municipal district borders on the ones of Martos, , Valdepeñas de Jaén and . Near Sierra del Ahillo and located in a valley on the Banks of the Guadalcotón, this place alternates areas of mountain range with a beautiful riverside. The town is drained by the River and its spot is made up of rough terrains and cereal lands.
The first proofs about the human existence date from IV millennium B.C., in the caves of Plato and Chatarra, inhabited by a group of shepherds who made pieces of pottery decorated with incisions. The village of La Camapana, near Venta del Charco, belongs to the Bronze or Final Copper Age.
In its municipal district we can find the village of Cabeza Baja de Encina Hermosa, which has been identified with Ipolcobulcula, a big fortified town, with nine hectares, founded in a late moment of the Iberian culture and that reached its development in the Roman alto imperial phase, in I century of our age. Other settlement of the Iberian Age and that was kept during the Roman Period is the Tower of La Gorgolla. To the Imperial Age belongs the Roman town of Cortijo del Baño, located in Venta del Carrizal.
During the Islamic Age this town was known as Hins al-Uqbin that someone translates like Castillo de las Águilas and others like Castillo de las Cuevas. For the last decades of IX century and at the beginning of the IX, it was involved in the Muladi revolt. In 918, the caliph Abd Al-Rahman III crushed the revolt. After the breaking-off the unit kept during the caliphate, would belong to the Ziríes de Granada and later in the cadastral district headed by Alcalá la Real.
Due to its frontier position it passed several times from the Moslems to the Castilians. During the conquest of Fernando III it was part of the Orden de Calatrava territories, constituting one of the advanced boundaries of Martos’ command. It was once and for all conquered in 1341 by Alfonso XI and four years later the king signed in Burgos a Privilege in which he donated the village and the castle to Alcalá la Real, at the mercy of its services.
This civil and religious dependence of Castillo de Locubín with regard to Alcalá la Real lasted until the first decades of XIX century. In 1600 the inhabitants claimed its segregation for the first time but without success. In 1627 the king Felipe IV sold the place to the marquis of Trujillo, which meant its segregation. But this situation was short-lived, in 1693 it passes again to the Crown and in 1698 it is reintegrated to the jurisdiction of Alcalá. In 1729 it was requested the separation through a lawsuit, but the arguments of Alcalá la Real won again.
For all this period the village was growing and consolidated, and in 1627 it had inhabitants at the beginning of XIX century the number increased to 1.075 and at the end of the same century there were 6.274 inhabitants.
Monuments
Church of San Pedro, end of XVI century. The main front of the church is attributed to Juan de Aranda Salazar.
Archaeological Sites
Archaeological Area of Encina Hermosa. Spa and Roman remains.
Castle of La Villeta. There are preserved canvas of the wall and towers of this castle that was conquered in 1341 by Alfonso XI.
Town Planning
Triana Street.
Molino torreón, XV century.
Gastronomy
Among the receipts of Castillo de Locubín we can find the fried breadcrumbs, that are made with bread or flour and they can be eaten with melon, fish, pumpkin and torreznos (fried rashers of bacon); the stew potatoes with chops; chips in slices with fried eggs, chorizo, etc.; the stew and the homemade stews of black pudding and chorizo; or the joyico with tomato, bread with oil and tomato. One of the dishes that better reflect the Andalusia tradition is the remojón, a salad with oranges, black olives and strips of cod, and with olive oil, that can be accompanied with loin of orza or homemade sausage. As for the desserts, we can emphasize the manta of sponge that is a homemade sweet made with sponge, soaked in syrup or liqueur and stuffed with crème pâtissière; the fried bread rolls and all kinds of baking made with cherries. We can emphasize the gazpacho of cherries, which is made during the summer months. Other dates from Moorish age like the fig and almond buns.
How to get there
By car: from Jaén you have to take the Motorway A-316, towards Martos, and, before arriving Alcaudete, you have to take the N-432.
Distances
To Jaén 68 km
To Baena 42 km
To Luque 37 km
To Martos 32 km
To Alcaudete 18 km
To Alcalá la Real 12 km
To Torredonjimeno 41 km
To Priego de Córdoba 36 km
To Valdepeñas de Jaén 18 km
To Fuensanta de Martos 22 km
