Tourist Office
OFICINAS DE INFORMACIÓN Centro de Visitantes LLANO DE LAS AMÉRICAS
- Autovía A4, salida 257. Ctra. Miranda del Rey, Km. 2
- (Abierto de jueves a domingo)
- Tfno.: 610 282 531
- Email: puertanatura@hotmail.com
Description
Nice town, located in the northernmost area of the Sierra Morena regionnext to the provincial border with Ciudad Real.
The northern part of its term is found within the Natural Park of Despeñapores and its geographical position makes it the greatest point of passage between Andalusia and the plateau so it receives the nickname "Puerta de Andalucía. "
It is one of the few municipalities with little agricultural interest, only 1% of its term is cultivated land.
Its economy is based mainly on the exploitation of the mountain, among which the forest, cynegetic, mushroom collection and livestock, usually cattle. The passage of the motorway of Andalusia has developed a relevant hotel offer.
It has two nests: Miranda del Rey and Venta Nueva.
From its historical heritage we highlight the St. Helena Parish Church, Iberian Shrine of the Collado de los Jardines, Urban Helmets and Rupestrian Paints in St. Helena.
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Culture
- St. Helena Parish Church: It was erected in 1793 on an ancient medieval hermitage, which had been raised to commemorate the Christian victory in the battle of the Navas de Tolosa, which had these sites on stage and to guard the Cross to which the miracle was attributed. Built of redesigned and painted masonry, with a simple facade, of small dimensions. A staircase stands out the access door, composed of a half-point arch on imposts, flanked by Tuscan pillars that give way to an inlet finished with triangular fronton and two bones, one on each side. On the top of the first body, the pyramidal structure is raised to three levels, with pinacles at the ends and half-point holes for bells. Inside it is a single drawer ship, covered with a half-canyon vault and double lunetes on the sides. The presbyterium is opened with a spinal arch, covered with an arista vault and illuminated with two large bone-shaped windows. The header is presided over by the image of its patron saint, St. Helena, between dogrous columns that support an injunction and a curved fronton. It was remodeled in 2001.
- Iberian Shrine of the Collado de los Jardines: It is located in the heart of Sierra Morena Oriental, on the most important traditional road of communication between Alta Andalucía and the Plateau. For the Iberian shrines they chose places, usually caves, located next to springs and forests, where it was thought that the divinity lived and where the faithful went to worship, pray and deliver offerings to their divinities. These offerings were what we know as "exvotes," small statues, between eight and twenty cm, made of bronze, stone or mud. In Iberian Shrine of the Collado de los Jardines There have been many exvotes, most of them bronze, representing men and women offering, priests, warriors and objects. It is part of the whole town that was excavated on the hill adjacent to the castle, where a wall, a sacred enclosure and a cast of metal exvotes have appeared. We meet before one of the three great Iberian shrines of the peninsula.
- St. Helena's Urban Helmets:Given its geographical location, a forced passage between the plateau and Andalusia, has experienced many historical events. The Battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212 in which King Alfonso VIII of Castile defeated the Almohades. To commemorate this battle, a hermitage was erected in honor of the Empress St. Helena, who would later name this place and the new population, which King Charles III founded in 1767. In the colonizing urbanism of Sierra Morena, the most important element is the large rectangular square, from which they leave streets on each side and where are the important buildings, such as the Church, the City Hall and the posite of Diezmos and Labradores. The rest of the town is organized from the Plaza. The streets are dominated by axial perspectives, houses of the same height and proportions, reticular fabric and geometric structure. It only deviates from the neoclassical model on its perimeter, to adapt to the road. It has been declared Good for Cultural Interest.
- Rupestrian Paints: The province of Jaén has more than forty points with rock paintings, declared World Heritage Sitewithin the whole Mediterranean arc. Some of them are found in St. Helena with exceptional testimonies of schematic and seminaturalist paintings, located in coats of the area, including those of the Cave of the Cows of the Retamoso in the area of the bodies, Cave of the Holy, the Cave of the Schools and some more.
- Mining Heritage. The landscape of ancient mines and Mediterranean mountains of the former Minero District extends to eight municipalities: Linares, La Carolina, Bailén, Baños de la Encina, Vilches, Guarroman, Santa Elena and Carboneros. This mining activity has left in these municipalities an exceptional concentration of remains, unique vestiges in the world and representative of the industrial revolution in the 19th century.
Nature
St. Helena is located in the northernmost sector of the northern region, next to the border with the province of Ciudad Real.
It is of the few municipalities of the province without agricultural vocation, only 1% of the total area. So its economy is based on development of the mountainincluding forest, cicnetic, mushroom collection and livestock (cattle).
The passage of the highway of Andalusia through the municipality has developed in the town a certain hotel offer of importance.
By its term the rivers run Caraway and Bell.The northern part of the municipality of St. Helena belongs to the Natural Park of Despeñacolos, of great landscape, faunistic and botanical interest.
The Park includes, among others:
- Place of the bodies, declared a Natural Monument of Andalusia. A place where a set of huge rock columns that resemble the tubes of the organ of a cathedral. Increases the beauty of this place the chromatic contrast of the grey of the coas with the intense yellow and orange of the different species of lichens that survive in them. On these rocks, oaks, alcornoques and shrubs form a Mediterranean forest in which they inhabit ginets, chickpeas and numerous rapacious birds.
- Embryo de los Organos: It is an affront place that was inhabited from very old, as shown by the rock paintings found. From here we can discover the pineapples of repopulation (carrascos, black, pineapples), sodas of alcornoques, complaints, oaks and madroños.
- The Empedraillo: These are the interesting remains of a small section of the Roman road that unites Catulo (Linares) and the Galena mines of El Centenillo with Toledo.
- Quejigal del Collado de los Jardines: Also located in the Natural Park of Despeñacolos, its biodiversity stands out. In the plant species we find complaints, alcornoques, maples and other species typical of the Mediterranean forest. With regard to the faunistic species that inhabit this place quote the wolf, lince, the otter, imperial eagle, royal eagle and azor.
If anything characterizes Despeñacolos are their unique geological formations. The Despeñapoerno de Despeñaperes, with 4 km of extension is the product of the erosion of the stream of the same name on a natural failure of the Iberian Macizo and the main means of communication between Castilla La Mancha and the lower lands of the Guadalquivir valley.
Parties and Events
- Sunday of Resurrection: From the Central European settlers who came in the 18th century, only the tradition of painting cooked eggs, which are eaten in the area of La Aliseda, is left. Before you have to meet the rite of making them roll by a earring of grass so they don't break. This has meant that, in St. Helena, the feast of this very well-known day is known as Rolaeggs.
- Romeria de San Isidro: On May 15, the neighbors of St. Helena accompanied San Isidro, in gilded carrots for that party until the site of The Aliseda. In this place, of incomparable beauty, a mass is held in honor of the Holy and a whole day of field is spent.
- Patron parties: In honor of their patron saint St. Helena, parties are held between 17 and 21 August. During all these days there are many and varied leisure and sports activities. On the 17th, with the traditional repeat of bells, the beginning of the parties is announced and the three rocket warnings indicate the beginning of the cobblestones in the streets of the town. In the afternoon, taurino show. We arrived at 18 August, big day. In the morning Mass in honor of the Holy and invitation to all attendees in one of the houses. At night, the most important event of the whole fair that is the procession of the Patronthat accompanied by a music band runs through the streets of the village. On the 20th and 21st days, the morning and evening cobwebs and taurino festival return. The fair ends with a powerful haze on the 21st of the morning.
Gastronomy
St. Helena for its location in Sierra Morena is a very suitable place to take mountain meat, either from major game (deer, boar or gamo) or from small game (perdiz, rabbit or hare).
- Andrajos: Made with a mass of flour (andrajo) that is cooked in a broth of hare meat with a saffrito of peppers and tomatoes flavoured with mint.
- Pipirrana: Salad made from roasted peppers, olives, cooked eggs, tuna and olive oil.
- Sage in salsa: It is made with deer meat, onion, tomato, flour, water, thyme, rosemary, peppers, olive oil and almonds.
- Niselos al ajillo: Niscalos, olive oil, ham, garlic, parsley white wine and salt.
- Tortilla Alfonso XIII: Made of eggs, ham, lamb kidneys, mushrooms, salt, fried tomato and olive oil.
Warehouse:
- Sweet Gachas: With toast, hot milk or boiler honey, flour, sugar, cinnamon powder olive oil. They are preparing for the feast of All Saints.
- Pestiños: They are made with olive oil, wine, dry spirits, sugar, cinnamon and flour.
- Lis flower: Eggs, flour, milk, sugar and olive oil, salt and cinnamon or melted honey for irrigation.
- Risol: A drink made with sweet anis, coffee, mejana and water.
History
The area has been occupied from prehistoric periodAs shown by the rock paintings located in the area's coats, with more than five thousand years old and declared a World Heritage Site in 1998.
In time of the Iberiansin the term of St. Helena was one of the most important centres of worship: Shrine of the Collado de los Jardineswhere many Iberian exvotes and the remains of what could have been a village have been located, not only in Iberian times but also in Roman and medieval times. The sanctuary also known as Cave of the Dolls has been used by the Romans for religious worship.
In the Age of Mediathe most important event is the Battle of the Navas de Tolosain 1212. The town is very close to it, in the vicinity is the Museum of the Battle de las Navas de Tolosa. The Almohade army was defeated and King Alfonso VIII of Castilla, ordered to build in the place a hermitage to guard the Cross to which they attributed the miracle of victory and a window-castle, to commemorate the triumph over the Almohades and that currently It is part of the Route of the Castles and the Battle.
In this same place in the 18th century, one of the New populations of Sierra Morena, project driven by the King Charles III. One of these populations is St. Helena. With the settlers, farmers from Centroeuropa (French, German and Flemish), efforts were made to establish a population and generate wealth in the depopulated areas of Sierra Morena while ensuring the passage of Despeñacolos.
In 1793, the population was in a ruinous state and it was King Charles IV who ordered it to demolish and build a new colonial type..
Other information
It has recently been built in the municipal term, the Museum of the Battle of the Navas de Tolosa. The museum is one of the most interesting points on the route of the Castles and the Battle and is the starting point for the seventeen municipalities that make up this tourist product. Very close is the Iberian Sanctuary of La Cueva de los Muñecos and The "Llano de las Américas" Interpretation Center.
In this municipality
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Accommodations
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Restaurants
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Services
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