Baeza

Full of history, culture and monumental attractions, the small town of Baeza attracts an overwhelming number of tourists throughout the year. It is no wonder, then, that it also has a wide variety of hotels to accommodate these tourists. Ranging from luxury hotels with swimming pools and spas to local guesthouses - you´ll be sure to find what you are looking for.

Baeza is tiny, compact and provincial with a kind of perpetual Sunday air about it. At its heart is the combined Plaza Mayor and the paseo which is flanked by pavement cafes but delightfully low key and atmospheric. The Plaza de Leones is a particularly attractive cobbled square enclosed by Renaissance buildings and stands slightly back at the far end.

The urban morphology of the two small cities of Úbeda and Baeza in southern Spain dates back to the Moorish ninth century and to the Reconquista in the 13th century. An important development took place in the 16th century, when the cities were subject to renovation along the lines of the emerging Renaissance.

Puerta de Úbeda

Undoubtedly the best fortified gate in the entire walled city, originally that which led to the Úbeda road. It had three arches, next to the Albarrana Tower from where the stretches of the wall started up to the following towers. Currently only one arch remains; the tower and walls were destroyed by order of Queen Isabel la Católica in 1476 to put an end to disputes between the local nobility. In the mid-twentieth century, part of the tower was integrated into private homes.

La Alhóndiga

The Alhóndiga is a municipal foundation building. Its location in the market square was chosen to enhance the commercial, public and civil sense of the square, since this sixteenth-century building responded to the social and economic needs of the time. It was originally intended for the sale and purchase of grain, but centuries later became an inn; in 1956, the second floor extension was added.

Location

Located on Paseo Mercaderes.

El Pósito

What used to be the sixteenth century municipal granary is now the Centro de Interpretación del Renace (Renaissance Interpretation Centre).

Location

Located on Calle La Barbacana.

Ayuntamiento y Antigua Casa de la Justicia

In 1502, Carlos I was made aware of the need to build a prison due to the poor conditions of the existing one. It was built in 1520, under the surveillance of the additional Casa del Corregidor from 1559, as shown by the cartouche at the entrance. Since 1867, this building has housed the Town Hall.

Location

Located on Pasaje Cardenal Benavides.

Casa del Pópulo (Antigua Audiencia Civil y Escribanías)

The house was built around 1535 consisting of two floors, corresponding to the Notary on the ground floor and old Audiencia Civil y Escribanías on the first floor, decorated with the city’s coat of arms, columns and lions.

Location

Located in Plaza del Pópulo.

Antiguas Carnicerías

Originally located outside the walls, past Puerta de Jaén, the butcher shop was relocated in the 1960s by the General Directorate of Fine Arts to its new location to finish configuring the square. The building could not be rebuilt maintaining the same configuration, since the available area in the square was less than its original location, therefore the solution was to “fold” the ends and reincorporate them on the sides.

History of Linares

Although archaeological samples do not suggest the presence of many human settlements in the area prior to the Copper Age (middle of the III Millennium BC), there is evidence dating back to the fifth Millennium BC documenting the life habits of the hunters and gatherers of epipalaeolithic groups.

Museo Ciudad de Baeza features a selection of artefacts on display that show different periods of human occupation in Baeza.