Hornos
Despite some recent construction around the village, the view of Hornos del Segura from afar remains spectacular. The ancient wall of this former Arab fortress stands almost intact, and the village is crowned by a castle with tower. There are numerous fantastic viewpoints overlooking the surrounding Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park. It has about 600 inhabitants.
HISTORY
The site that Hornos occupies today was populated in the third millennium BC, in the period corresponding to the Copper Age, and remained occupied during the Bronze Age, second millennium BC. A cemetery excavated in an artificial cave was found in Hornos, dated to around 4800 years BC. More>
THINGS TO SEE
Castillo de Hornos
The castle is situated dominating the town and is of a purely defensive nature made up of the Torre de Homenaje, three small towers and the remains of a large room of which only the outer wall that closed the parade ground remains, also conserving the remains of other walled elements. The tower has rounded corners and small masonry based on materials typical of the area. It presents as a peculiarity a single entrance at medium height which was accessed by parapets, more than possibly made of wood, which were removed in case of danger, leaving the tower isolated. Inside, there are two vaulted rooms connected by a staircase carved into the thickness of the wall, through which there is also access to a terrace. The complex is dated between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and was, together with the castle of Segura de la Sierra, one of the strongest fortresses in the entire Sierra de Segura, and the main nucleus of the Commandery that the Order de Santiago had during the times when this mountain range was the border between Castilla and Granada. It has been restored to house the new Hornos de Segura Astronomy Workshop, which includes an astronomical observatory (Cosmolarium de Hornos), a planetarium, a camera obscura and an exhibition hall, among other facilities. Located in the centre of town.
Opening Times:
1st October-1st December, Wednesday-Sunday, 10:30-14:00hrs and 16:30-19:30hrs.
2nd December-19th March, Wednesday-Sunday, 10:30-14:00hrs and 16:00-18:30hrs.
20th March-31st May, Wednesday-Sunday, 10:30-14:00hrs and 16:30-19:30hrs.
1st June-30th September, Wednesday-Sunday, 10:30-14:00hrs and 18:00-21:00hrs.
(15th July-3rd September, Wednesday-Sunday, 10:30-14:00hrs and 19:30-22:00hrs).
Price:
Open access, €5
Guided tour, €8
Tel: 664 17 55 96
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
The church is of simple construction and of great beauty, corresponding to the type of military construction typical of the Order of Cavalry of Santiago in which the stonemason Juan de Múgica worked between 1523 and 1549. Its altarpiece is Renaissance and its tower is made of ashlar masonry, which is accessed from the inside by a spiral staircase. In this church, a medieval vase, known as the “Alhambra vase” was found that is currently exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum; it is made of white clay, with a white background and blue decoration. The church has a single nave and two bodies attached to both sides. Dating from the end of the sixteenth century, its first floor is composed of columns with Ionic capitals and the second floor by columns of Corinthian capitals. The charter granted to the town by Fernando III in 1245 is preserved in its archives and in its silverware, we find among others, a silver processional cross piece, a silver chalice from the end of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth century and silver trinkets from the sixteenth century which somehow escaped the savage looting committed in July 1936. Externally it has good proportions to which the bodies of the sacristy, the old baptistery and the chapels contribute. The tower stands out for its smooth and simple layout, nevertheless giving it poise and beauty. Located on Calle Iglesia.
Puerta de la Villa
The Puerta de la Villa was the gateway into the town nucleus. The most characteristic feature of this gate is its angled entrance, which suggests a probably Almohad origin. Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1985. Locate don Calle San Isidro
THINGS TO SEE OUT OF THE TOWN
Castillo de Bujaraiza
The castle rises to the south of the town, on an islet in the Tranco reservoir. Small in size, it has a polygonal enclosure and a keep projected towards the parade ground, where despite its poor conservation, the courses of small masonry well fixed with lime mortar can be seen. It is close to the disappeared village of San Miguel de Bujaraiza, a pasture donated to Gonzalo de la Peña and covered by the waters of the reservoir. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1985.
NATURAL AREAS
Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas
With a total surface area of 209,920Ha and covering almost a fifth of Jaén province, this is Spain’s largest protected area and one of its most extensive forested zones. Located in eastern Jaen province, it connects the Sierra Morena and the Subbética mountain ranges. The highest peak in this immense park is Pico Empanada at 2,107m and the entire park is higher than 600m.
Recognising its exceptional ecological importance, it was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1983 and it was deemed a natural park in 1989. First impressions of the park may consist of barren rocky crests and vast pine forests, but the area’s botanical importance within Andalusia is matched only by the Sierra Nevada, with a fifth of the vascular plants in the Iberian peninsula being found in the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park. It is also home to 51 species of mammals, 185 birds, 21 reptiles (including an endemic lizard), 12 amphibians, 11 fish and one of the highest number of butterfly species in the Iberian peninsula, with 112 varieties found here.
Arroyo de los Molinos
Also known as Arroyo de las Aceitunas, it is a stream with a permanent flow from its source to its mouth in the Tranco reservoir (formed by the Guadalquivir River). With a distance of about 10km, it is one of the most important and well-known in the municipality of Hornos. In its upper course it forms a beautiful corner known for its difficult access, the so-called Charco de la Catarata, with a drop of about five meters. From its source to the so-called Puente del Vadillo, already close to its mouth, it forms a funnel with the necessary force to exploit the energy it produces. The citizens of Hornos took advantage of this to grind wheat and make flour in the 1930s, and the first electric light that the town saw.
Embalse de El Tranco
Known locally as the “interior sea”, the reservoir has a capacity of 500 cubic hectometers, set between pine forests, given the abundant vegetation of the Natural Park that surrounds it and the extent of olive trees that descend to its shore. Its construction began in 1930 and it was inaugurated 16 years later, in 1946. It is the head and regulator reservoir of the Guadalquivir River. The dam has a length at its crest of 290 meters long and five meters wide and a height of 90 meters, with horizontal galleries inside. The town of El Tranco had a chapel, Ermita de San Rafael, schools, an assembly hall with a sound cinema, a commissary, an inn, a post office, a Civil Guard barracks and several stores, as well as an emergency hospital. The reservoir is popular to those who enjoy water sports.
GASTRONOMY
Visitors to Hornos can try traditional dishes such as ajo pringue (liver), migas (friend breadcrumbs served with pork), ajo harina (mashed potato), sopa de ajo (garlic soup) and bacalao a la serrana (cod stew). Sweet treats include roscos (aniseed doughnuts), arroz con leche (rice pudding) and panetes (marzipan).
BUS SERVICE
There are bus services from Hornos to Baeza and Jaén. More>
FESTIVALS
Popular festivals in Hornos are San Antón, Fiestas Patronales en Honor de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y San Roque, Romería de la Virgen de Fátima and Semana Santa. More>
WEATHER FORECAST
The weather forecast for the next few days for Hornos. More>
TOURIST OFFICE
The tourist office of Hornos is located in the Town Hall. More>
NEARBY PLACES
The neighbouring villages to Hornos are Orcera, Beas de Segura and Santiago-Pontones.