Jódar is a city in the
province of Jaén, Spain. The 2008
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
(
INE) counted 12119 inhabitants.
The region is agricultural, and produces extra virgin olive oil, green and white asparagus, and cotton.
Jódar is the largest European producer of handcrafted
esparto
Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spar ...
grass arts and crafts, mainly parasols for beach use.
General information
This town is near Mount San Cristóbal, a peak in the north part of the massif of
Sierra Mágina
The Sierra Mágina is a massif mostly in the province of Jaén (southern Spain), part of the Cordillera Subbética. The highest peak is the Pico Mágina, with an elevation of 2,164 m.
Geography
The boundaries of the massif are grossly def ...
, and is the most populous town of the .
Geography
Mountains and mounts near to the village include:
* ''Carboneras'' 1500 m
* ''La Golondrina'' 1258 m
* ''Jódar'' 1200 m
* ''Altarillas'' 1066 m
The climate is
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
, with warm and dry summers and cold winters.
History
There are prehistoric remains in Jódar, at ''Las Quebradas''.
The creation of the town dates back to the 3rd century BCE.
During the al-Andalus period it was called Galdur y Xauda. Its castle is among the oldest in the province, documented since the year 860. In the 10th century the Arab governor Jair Aben Xaquir declared it independent and joined the rebellious Omar Ben Hafsun, later to betray him. One of Omar Ben Hafsun's deputies beheaded him and sent his head to Córdoba.
The Christian conquest was carried out by Sancho Martínez de la Torre in 1231, by order of King Fernando III, as a starting point in the battle for Ubeda.
In 1485, Diaz Sanchez de Carvajal founded an estate over Jódar, with the approval of the
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
, until the abolition of estate privileges in the 19th century.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Jaén
Jaén is a province in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, which is divided into 97 municipalities. Spanish census, Jaén is the 27th largest of the 50 provinces by population, with inhabitants, and the 14th largest by land area, ...
References
Municipalities in the Province of Jaén (Spain)
{{Andalusia-geo-stub
https://www.andalucia.org/en/jodar