Santiago Pontones
Municipality formed by the towns of Santiago de la Espada and Pontones, with headquarters in Santiago de la Espada, where the institutions are located. Until 1975 they were independent municipalities. In addition to these localities, twenty-seven other population centers are part of it. Located northeast of the province of Jaén, it belongs to the Sierra de Segura region. By extension, it is the largest municipality in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park and the second in the province. It symbolizes the deep mountain range, with spectacular ravines, beautiful valleys and arrogant peaks, which offer idyllic landscapes. In the area of ??Fuente Segura the river Segura is born.
Due to the climate and the orography, only 3% is cultivated land, dedicated to the cultivation of herbaceous plants. Its climate is the coldest in the province. The economic activities are livestock, mainly cattle (it has several ranches of wild cattle), forestry, inland tourism, hunting and fishing.
From the Architectural Heritage we highlight the Church of Santiago Apóstol, the urban centers of Santiago, Pontón Alto and Pontón Bajo and other monuments located in some of the population centers that are part of the City Hall.
Information
Tourist area: Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas
Distance to the capital (km): 218
Altitude above sea level (m): 1340
Extension(Km2): 683
Population: 2.956
Demonym: Santiagueños o Pontoneros
Postal Code: 23290
http://turismosantiagopontones.es/
Tourist information office: Avda. de Andalucía s/n –Santiago de la Espada
Tourist information office: Las Juntas, s/n -Las Juntas de Miller
INTERPRETATION CENTERS Torre del Vinagre Visitor Center
Ctra. del Tranco A-319 km 48
Culturally
- Church de Santiago Apóstol: Built on an old hermitage in the 16th century with influences from the late Levantine Gothic. It has a single nave divided by four arches, covered by armor of pair in row of Mudejar tradition, supported by semicircular diaphragm arches. It reproduces the scheme of the Levantine churches of the late Gothic, with baroque altarpieces and a wide wooden choir with curious coffered ceiling and a banner. The main altarpiece is from the 18th century and is the most valuable artistic element in the temple. On the outside, the square tower stands out in height and robustness, which in 1763 had to be rebuilt.
- Urban centers of Santiago, Pontón Alto and Pontón Bajo. The urban centers of these nuclei are made up of streets that recall the morphology of medieval town planning, in which regular and geometric planning is not followed, but is built according to needs. This gives rise to narrow and irregular streets with typically mountain dwellings: stone facades, plastered and whitewashed, with small gaps, protruding tiles to fire water and snow, and thin chimneys.
- Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Located in Pontones, it was built at the end of the 19th century. It is small, with a single rectangular nave and a simple façade w ...
Culturally
- Church de Santiago Apóstol: Built on an old hermitage in the 16th century with influences from the late Levantine Gothic. It has a single nave divided by four arches, covered by armor of pair in row of Mudejar tradition, supported by semicircular diaphragm arches. It reproduces the scheme of the Levantine churches of the late Gothic, with baroque altarpieces and a wide wooden choir with curious coffered ceiling and a banner. The main altarpiece is from the 18th century and is the most valuable artistic element in the temple. On the outside, the square tower stands out in height and robustness, which in 1763 had to be rebuilt.
- Urban centers of Santiago, Pontón Alto and Pontón Bajo. The urban centers of these nuclei are made up of streets that recall the morphology of medieval town planning, in which regular and geometric planning is not followed, but is built according to needs. This gives rise to narrow and irregular streets with typically mountain dwellings: stone facades, plastered and whitewashed, with small gaps, protruding tiles to fire water and snow, and thin chimneys.
- Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Located in Pontones, it was built at the end of the 19th century. It is small, with a single rectangular nave and a simple façade w ...
Culturally
- Church de Santiago Apóstol: Built on an old hermitage in the 16th century with influences from the late Levantine Gothic. It has a single nave divided by four arches, covered by armor of pair in row of Mudejar tradition, supported by semicircular diaphragm arches. It reproduces the scheme of the Levantine churches of the late Gothic, with baroque altarpieces and a wide wooden choir with curious coffered ceiling and a banner. The main altarpiece is from the 18th century and is the most valuable artistic element in the temple. On the outside, the square tower stands out in height and robustness, which in 1763 had to be rebuilt.
- Urban centers of Santiago, Pontón Alto and Pontón Bajo. The urban centers of these nuclei are made up of streets that recall the morphology of medieval town planning, in which regular and geometric planning is not followed, but is built according to needs. This gives rise to narrow and irregular streets with typically mountain dwellings: stone facades, plastered and whitewashed, with small gaps, protruding tiles to fire water and snow, and thin chimneys.
- Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Located in Pontones, it was built at the end of the 19th century. It is small, with a single rectangular nave and a simple façade with a stone façade, in harmony with the type of architecture that surrounds it.
- El Hornillo: Former inn from the 16th century. You can see a wooden balcony, a sample of vernacular architecture, whose footings and balusters are well protected by the wide eaves of the roof.
- Miller's Strong House, topped with thin loopholes from the 13th to the 16th centuries, which could have been a defensive bastion against the Almogávares and which was rehabilitated in the 19th century, during the Carlist wars.
It also has five properties declared of Cultural Interest: The Castles of La Matea and Las Gorgollitas, the shelters of Rio Frío, Cañada de la Cruz and Engarbo, the latter, as well as a World Heritage Site.
About Nature
Nestled in the Sierra de Segura, the municipality of Santiago-Pontones, has an average altitude of 1,340 m., With an area of 684 km2 that makes it the second largest municipality in the province after Andújar.
Its rugged orography, which prevents it from being useful as a farmland, differs from the rest of the municipalities of the province, with the olive grove occupying almost no area.
Due to the altitude it has a mountain climate, being much colder than the rest of the municipalities at all times of the year and one of the few where snowfalls are not an extraordinary event.
Santiago-Pontones, fully included in the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park, represents one of the most valuable forest areas in Spain, both for its density and for its variety of species.
The high mountain area is populated by salgareño or laricio pine, junipers, maples, holly and thorns; in the valley of the Guadalquivir it is home to holm oaks as well as black pine and in the intermediate zone there are dense pine forests and pastures. Along the riverbeds and the banks of the swamps, gallery forests develop: poplars, birches, willows ... which add a touch of color to the landscape with the passing of the seasons, especially during autumn.
The fauna is also very varied, large mammals such as wild boar, mouflon, deer, fallow deer and mountain goat are frequently observed in the forests; small mammals such as the dormouse, otter, genet and common squirrel. Among the reptiles, the Valverde lizard stands out, endemic in the area, and among the fish the common trout stands out.
However, birds are the majority, which is why the municipality was declared a Special Bird Protection Area (ZEPA). Here we can spot large raptors: griffon vulture, buzzards, peregrine falcon, eagles of different species and even the lammergeier.
It is also easy to see other types of smaller birds such as the nuthatch, common crawler, chickadee, crossbill, greenfinch, finch, thrush, woodpecker ..., and near rivers and reservoirs, the water blackbird, gray wagtail or the bastard nightingale.
The many natural enclaves that are scattered throughout the municipal area are the best spaces that offer us the best information to appreciate the landscape, the morphology of the terrain, as well as the fauna and flora of this municipality. Among which we highlight:
- Pico Banderillas. A summit of almost 2,000 m. altitude (1,993 m.) from which we can contemplate beautiful panoramic views of the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park.
- Nacimiento del Segura. Inside the peculiar calcareous ridge of Sierra de Segura, at 1,410 m. altitude, there is a spring of crystalline water known as Nacimiento del Río Segura. Along its route in a northwesterly direction, it goes to the Mediterranean and collects the waters of the Madera, Zumeta and Tus rivers. In its environment there is a recreational area surrounded by a gallery forest. It is located 22 km. west of Santiago de la Espada.
- Pino Galapán. It is an impressive natural monument, a 40 m long black pine. tall and more than four centuries old and it takes four adults to surround its trunk with outstretched arms.
- Salto de los Órganos. Next to the source of the Borosa river, the Los Órganos power station presents a beautiful landscape that contains all the typical elements of the Natural Park. The geological environment stands out, made up of calcareous formations of unusual shapes that cause caves and caves of great beauty.
Experientially
Traditional festivals are very numerous in this municipality, because most of the population centers celebrate their own popular festivals.
During the same many and varied activities are carried out, such as the pilgrimage in honor of the patron of each of the towns, mountain bowling championships, popular festivals, horse races, children's games…. In Santiago de la Espada, Pontones and La Matea, the popular bull-fighting bulls are also held, which are brought from the field to the plaza and fought in the afternoon.
On May 22 in Santiago de la Espada the pilgrimage of Santa Quiteria is celebrated. The tradition of eating "hornazo" that day has been maintained since the 16th century.
In mid-June, festivals are held in the village of El Cerezo in honor of the Sacred Heart and during the last days of the month, festivals of the Miraculous Virgin in La Matea
In July many villages celebrate their festivities: In Miller Santa Isabel, in the Atascaderos the Virgen del Carmen, on the 25th Santiago in Coto Ríos.
It is the month of August when more parties are celebrated: Casas de Carrasco in honor of San Antonio, in Pontones the Virgen del Rosario, in Pontón Alto, a meeting in which the neighbors prepare crumbs. In honor of the Immaculate Conception, parties are held in La Toba, Los Teatinos and Santiago de la Espada.
During the month of September the feast in honor of the Immaculate Conception takes place in Marchena. Perhaps it is the festival where more traditions are preserved. Between the 15th and the 17th, the Santiago de la Espada Livestock Fair and we ended with the Pontones Livestock Fair on October 12th.
Gastronomy
It is to the transhumant shepherds to whom the municipality of Santiago - Pontones owes the particularity of the mountain food, made with great patience as the saying indicates: "The crumbs of the gañan at two turns are, and the migas of the pastor the more you turn better ”.
- The Segureño lamb, star product of the gastronomy of the area.
- Safe lamb stew:lamb, red pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, water, white wine, olive oil, flour, black pepper, vinegar and salt
- Sausages: from the massacres of yore.
- Guisote: elaborado con carne de cerdo, patatas, cebolla, pimentón, pimientos, tomates, especias y almendras picadas muy finas.
- Gachamiga: Made with flour, potatoes, oil or a "garlic"
- El “cuchiman” de Pontones: Meat marinade with garlic, olive oil, parsley, spices, aromatic herbs and pepper. Let it rest and cook it in the oven in a casserole.
- The "jacketed rabbit": dish that the shepherds prepare. The skin is removed and rubbed with butter, wine, aromatic herbs and spices and the skin is replaced.
- We also quote, Las Migas, El ajoatao, El ajo pringue, Los andrajos….
- Confitería: the fried donuts, the flowers, the dough ball stuck in egg ...
- El orujo carrasqueño which is made in the villages of Vites, Tobos, La Marchenica, La Muela and Miller
History
The municipality of Santiago Pontones was born from the merger carried out by decree in 1975 between the municipalities of Santiago de la Espada and Pontones.
In the Birth Cave in Fuente Segura (Pontones) the oldest human occupation in the province has been documented with absolute dates. A kinship community that lived by hunting. To this first phase of occupation is added another in the Neolithic and to a later one belongs the shelter of Río Frío, where a collective tomb has been found.
The cave paintings of the Cuevas del Engarbo I and II, the Shelter of Río Frío and the shelter of the Cañada de la Cruz should be highlighted. All of them are included together with all those that make up the Rock Art of the Spanish Mediterranean Arch in the World Heritage list made by UNESCO in 1998.
In the forties of the last century, a great treasure of goldsmiths was found, which is supposed to be from the 1st century BC. It is made up of more than a hundred objects, including a set of gold earrings in the shape of a cluster of grapes, of Iberian manufacture, which inserts a figure of a winged woman. It should be noted that these pieces are included among the key works of Iberian art. It is kept in the Valencia de Don Juan Institute in Madrid.
During the Muslim period the municipal term of Santiago - Pontones was populated by numerous fortifications and farmhouses or small towns. In the municipal term there are vestiges of fortified enclosures including the Miller Castle, or the Gorgolillas castle. This area was conquered from the Muslims around 1247, by the Order of Santiago, becoming part of its domains.
Santiago de la Espada was founded in 1525, its origin being a group of shepherds who came with their cattle to this place, which they called "El Hornillo". For the Commandery of Santiago it was "Puebla de Santiago" which in 1570 was declared a village by King Felipe II, although it was dependent on the jurisdiction of Segura de la Sierra. Later it was declared "Villa de Santiago" and around 1770 it would be given the current name: "Santiago de la Espada".
Pontones, in the time of Felipe II, was a hamlet of Segura de la Sierra called "El Pontón", it reached its independence in 1837 with a municipal area of about 200 km2., Becoming known as "Pontones de Segura" Its labor, legal and Economic were regulated by the Ordinances of the Común de Segura from 1580 and later it was part of the Maritime province.
The entire municipal territory is included in declarations of protection and conservation of the Sierra de Segura:
- National Reserve on July 21, 1960.
- Declaration by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983.
- Natural Park on February 5, 1986.
- Special protection zone for birds by the EEC in 1988.
Other information
It has more than ten peaks with an altitude greater than 1,800m. With an area of more than 700 km2, the distance between some points of the municipality exceeds 100 km.
Source of information
