Tourist Office
Description
Lahiguera is a small town located to the east of the Campiña region. The town sits atop a hill, offering views of the Guadalquivir river to the north and the mountains of Jaén to the south.
A predominantly agricultural municipality, with 100% of its territory under cultivation, 80% of which is given over to olive groves and the rest to herbaceous crops, mainly located along the banks of the Salado de Arjona stream.
The local economy is based on olive growing, the olive oil industry and kitchen furniture manufacturing. Until 1995, this municipality was known as Higuera de Arjona.
Among its architectural heritage, notable features include the Old Church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, the New Church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, the Town Hall, the Torreón de la Tercia, and the Roman Bridge over the Saladillo stream.
AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT
MORE INFORMATION
Culture
- Old Church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación. Built at the end of the 15th century to serve as the castle's chapel. It has a single nave with a Latin-cross floor plan, flanked by side chapels and presided over by a presbytery without an apse. Notable is the Mudéjar coffered ceiling forming the roof structure beneath the covering. It has a doorway in a simple classical style. The main altar is decorated with a recently made neoclassical plaster altarpiece. The current bell tower was built in the mid-20th century to replace the previous one, which had collapsed.
- New Church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación. Built in 1944, it has a single nave divided by semicircular arches into seven bays and covered with a groin vault. Externally, it has a sober main façade with a semicircular arch over the doorway.
- Town Hall. The most important building in the town. Built in 1914 and later renovated, while preserving its original character. On the outer walls, brick stands out as the main decorative feature: the lower plinth, corner and opening surrounds, floor divisions, cornice, and the raised roofline formed by a balcony creating a false terrace. The rest of the wall is clad in marble veneer imitating perfectly fitted ashlar blocks. The entrance hall ceiling features fresco paintings.
- Castillo de la Tercia: Lahiguera was once home to a medieval settlement with Roman antecedents, originating from an early watchtower that passed from Arab to Christian hands, its strategic importance growing as it allowed sight lines to other, stronger strongholds such as Arjona, Andújar and Jaén. Today only the Torreón de la Tercia survives, built in the 13th century with a rectangular floor plan and fitted masonry at its base, with the upper section built in rammed earth and irregular rubble masonry, reinforced with brick courses and pillars. It was declared a Site of Cultural Interest of the province of Jaén in 1949.
- Roman Bridge over the Saladillo stream. Built with the sandstone commonly found in the area. Today, only one wedge-shaped voussoir arch survives, forming the bridge's vault.
Nature
Lahiguera is a town belonging to the Campiña region, located in the north-western quadrant of the province.
The town sits atop a hill, offering a fantastic panoramic view of the surroundings: the lands of Lahiguera slope down, covered in olive groves, towards the Guadalquivir river, to the north of the municipality.
The highest point is La Atalaya, where the reservoirs supplying the town's water are located.
The vegetation in the area has been shaped by agricultural use, causing the original holm oak woodland and scrubland to be gradually replaced by olive groves or other crops such as wheat or barley.
Most farming is rainfed, with irrigated land covering very little area — barely 100 hectares — since no permanent watercourse or aquifer runs through the municipal area.
As a result, naturally occurring vegetation has been reduced to roadside verges and paths. Along the streams, remnants of riparian vegetation can be found, such as reeds, tamarisks and poplars.
This human-shaped landscape has allowed steppe birds to settle here, most notably in winter the great bustard, a large and heavy bird that survives in farmland areas.
The little bustard is more common and easier to spot. Birds of prey include the Montagu's harrier in spring and summer, and the hen harrier in winter. Other birds found in these areas include the kestrel and the peregrine falcon, scarce elsewhere on the continent but common in this countryside.
Small game is abundant, especially partridge, rabbit and hare, although these species face heavy pressure from hunting, from disease, and from the conversion of cereal fields into olive plantations.
Parties and Events
Among the town's most deeply rooted festivals are the following:
- Santa Clara de Asís, 11 August. She has been the town's patron saint since 1251. Festivities are held in her honour, including sporting activities, musical performances and open-air dances. The most important day is the 11th, when Santa Clara is carried in procession through the town's streets.
- San Juan Bautista, 24 June. Co-patron saint of Lahiguera. Grand festivities are also held on this date in his honour. On the afternoon of the 24th, the saint is carried in procession through the town's main streets, with numerous sporting, cultural and recreational activities, as well as evening open-air dances.
- San Sebastián, 20 January. He has held the patronage since ancient times. During his festival, his image is carried in procession through the town's streets.
- Holy Week. The Passion of Christ during Holy Week is what gives Lahiguera's traditional culture its distinctive character. The town preserves a particular tradition known as the "carrera de los Santos" ("race of the Saints"), held on Good Friday during the meeting between the Virgen de los Dolores and San Juan with Jesús Nazareno, whose processional platforms are carried "at a run" by young men so that the images can be brought together as quickly as possible. On Easter Sunday, known as "domingo de amor" ("Sunday of love"), the bearers repeat the race with the image of the Risen Christ, holding the platform with their hands rather than on their shoulders, so that the Virgin and her Son can be reunited as soon as possible. The town also preserves the so-called "pregones de la madrugada" (dawn proclamations) on Good Friday, undoubtedly the finest expression of its popular tradition. There are three: "La confrontación del ángel" (The Confrontation with the Angel), "La sentencia de azotes" (The Sentence of Flogging) and "La sentencia a muerte" (The Death Sentence).
Gastronomy
Being a town of the Campiña, dishes made with local produce are, of course, a must. Notable examples include:
- Ajo blanco. A cold soup made with almonds, which can also be made with dried broad beans, bread, garlic, salt, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
- Gazpacho. Prepared with ripe tomato, cucumbers, red peppers, cumin, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, water, salt and a little bread.
- Holy Week flamenquín. A roll of fish, swordfish or similar, wrapped around a prawn filling, then breaded and fried.
- Game dishes: including pickled partridge, wild game meat, or homemade partridge foie gras.
Among the variety of sweets:
- "Roscos de baño blanco" (white-glazed ring pastries): a legacy of Moorish cuisine, made with flour, eggs, icing sugar, egg whites and lemon juice.
- Others: "roscos de vino" (wine-flavoured rings), "empanadas", "perrunas" (aniseed biscuits), "almendrados" (almond biscuits), and, for community celebrations, "la manta" ("the blanket"), a sweet made of sponge cake and cream.
There is also a typical local drink called "Resol", made with aguardiente (anise spirit) and coffee.
History
Given its location and the quality of its soil for agricultural use, the earliest settlements date back to the late Neolithic period, when the consolidation of farming began. Archaeological remains from this period have been found within the town itself. Some settlements continued into the Iberian period, as remains of painted Iberian pottery have also been found, along with the oppidum of La Atalaya, dating from the Iberian era and occupied until the arrival of the Romans.
During the Roman period, the area was densely populated with small farming estates, with rural settlements and villas documented. The Roman bridge survives from this time.
Islamic settlements have also been identified in the municipal area, which must have thrived on the region's fertile lands. Among them, Cerro Corbún, which controlled a wide fertile plain.
Although not mentioned in the chronicles, Lahiguera must have come under Castilian rule at the same time as Andújar and its surroundings, following a pact signed by Ferdinand III with the Muslims. In the 13th century it appears under the name Fuente de la Figuera, indicating the Castilian origin of its founding; years later, by grant of Alfonso X, it came to belong to Andújar within the lordship of Calatrava. It was at this point that it began to be called "Higuera de Andújar".
La Tercia was built during this period, perhaps as a stronghold for the town.
In the 16th century, the most important historical event for the town's inhabitants was Lahiguera's exemption from the jurisdiction of Andújar, gaining thereby the status of "villa" and its own legal and administrative independence.
Until the 19th century, the predominant crops were cereals, wheat and barley, with olive cultivation only just beginning in parts of the municipality.
In 1995, the change of the municipality's name from Higuera de Arjona to Lahiguera was approved.
In this municipality
3
Events
