Linares (Spain)

Linares
City
Marquis of Linares Hospital
Flag Coat of arms
Linares Location in Spain
Coordinates: 38°05′N 3°38′W / 38.083°N 3.633°W / 38.083; -3.633Coordinates: 38°05′N 3°38′W / 38.083°N 3.633°W / 38.083; -3.633
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Andalusia
Province	Jaén
Comarca	Sierra Morena
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Body	Ayuntamiento de Linares
• Mayor	Juan Fernández Gutiérrez (PSOE)
Area
• Total	197.5 km2 (76.3 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL)	419 m (1,375 ft)
Population (2007)
• Total	61,347
• Density	310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	23700
Area code(s)	+34 (Spain) + (Jaén)

Linares is a city located in the Andalusian province of Jaén, Spain. It is considered the second most important city in that province and had a population of 62,347 in the most recent census. The altitude is 419 metres (1,375 feet) and the total area of the municipality is 195.15 square kilometres (75.35 sq mi). It is located on kilometer 120 on the Valencia-Córdoba highway (N-322) and is 51 kilometres (32 miles) from the capital, Jaén.

The city is well connected to the rest of Spain. The Autovia de Andalucia, NIV Madrid-Cádiz, is located 12 km (7 miles) to the west at Bailén. There is a railroad station at Linares-Baeza, with lines connecting Madrid and Cádiz, and Madrid-Granada-Almería.

Near to Linares is the ancient town of Castulo, which dates to antiquity and earned much of its revenue from the lead mines located there. It was at Castulo that Carthaginian general Hannibal married the local Iberian princess Himilce on the eve of the Second Punic War.

The Linares Advanced Technical College is located in Alfonso X "the Wise" Street and offers a wide range of engineering studies, belonging to the University of Jaén since 1 July 1993. The Scientific-Technological Campus is still under construction.

Linares is also the place where the annual Linares chess tournament was held.

Around the middle of the nineteenth century Linares became an important mining center with lead mines nearby. The smelting of lead, the manufacture of lead sheets and pipes, and the production of by-product silver from the lead ores led to a significant population increase. The 6,000 inhabitants in 1849 became 36,000 in 1877. This commercial and industrial growth brought the concession of the title of city in 1875.

Until recently Linares was heavily involved in the mining and smelting of lead and the production of gunpowder, dynamite and rope were staples of the local economy. The last mine closed in 1991. Today the mines have been abandoned, as well as Santana Motor, the former producer of all-terrain vehicles for the Spanish Army which was recently shut down due to the economic recession. There is also a factory producing trains (CAF), another one producing components for wind turbines (Grupo Daniel Alonso y Gamesa), and a beet sugar plant (Azucareras Reunidas de Jaen S.A.), which now produces biodiesel from colza oil, palm oil, soybeans, and sunflower oil.