El Club · Segura de la Sierra

The Town Hall of Segura de la Sierra is a building of municipal use identified as a palace or manor house, located in the historic center of Segura de la Sierra, in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, at coordinates 38.29772, -2.65158. The local tourist information itself presents it as "Town Hall", and various heritage guides point out that the building occupies the former House of the Society of Jesus, which explains its historical and representative character within the urban complex. It is a construction linked to the modern period, with heritage value for its Renaissance architecture, according to the available tourist description. This stylistic ascription fits with the image of noble civil building that preserves the main square of a town historically marked by the presence of Santiago de Compostela and its strategic role in the Sierra de Segura. Segura de la Sierra was declared a Historic-Artistic Site, and the building is part of an urban environment of high heritage interest dominated by the castle and the historic fabric of the walled town. The town hall, due to its institutional function and its former connection with the Society of Jesus, constitutes an outstanding piece of the local civil heritage.

The Arab Baths of Segura de la Sierra are a monument of Hispano-Muslim architecture located in the historic center of this town in the province of Jaén, in the area around Calle de la Iglesia and Calle Caballeros Santiaguistas. It is an Islamic hammam or public bath, one of the few preserved in the province together with those of Jaén capital. Its chronology cannot be fixed with total exactitude due to the scarcity of original elements, but the municipal and informative sources place it probably between the XI and XII centuries, in the middle of the medieval splendor of the town. It presents a traditional organization in three longitudinal naves, corresponding to the cold, warm and hot rooms. Among its most outstanding patrimonial features are the lateral spaces articulated by double horseshoe arches and the barrel vaults with skylights, characteristic elements of this type of building. It was restored in 1971, when it was still used as a house, which allowed its conservation and public visit. Its historical importance is understood within the monumental complex of Segura de la Sierra, a town declared a Historic-Artistic Site, and as a material testimony of the Andalusian period in the Sierra de Segura.

The Castle of Segura de la Sierra is a medieval fortress located in Segura de la Sierra, in the province of Jaén, within the region of the Sierra de Segura, at 38.29916, -2.64954. It is a rocky castle that dominates the historic center and the mountain landscape, with great strategic and panoramic value. The preserved factory responds mainly to a Christian work raised between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, on the remains of a previous Muslim fortification. In its current configuration there is an outer enclosure of rammed earth and a fortress protected by a barbican, with masonry in part of its structures. The castle was linked to the Order of Santiago, which turned it into the center of the encomienda of Castile and came to use it as the residence of the Grand Master in the last quarter of the 15th century. This use explains its political and military importance in the Middle Ages, within a town declared a Historic-Artistic Site. Among its documented heritage elements are the chapel, the chapter house, the bathroom and other interior construction remains from different stages. After restorations and museum adaptations, the enclosure was opened to the public as a visitable space, consolidating itself as the main heritage landmark of Segura de la Sierra.

The Fountain in honor to Carlos V is an urban monument of Segura de la Sierra (Jaén), located in front of the church of Nuestra Señora del Collado, in the historical helmet of the municipality. Its coordinates place it in the monumental nucleus of the town, within a patrimonial environment declared historical-artistic set. The piece dates from 1517, so it belongs to the 16th century and is related to the transition between the Gothic and Renaissance periods. The informative documentation also identifies it as an imperial fountain, alluding to the visit of Charles I, and highlights its commemorative character within the historic urban landscape. Among its most cited features is the presence of a large coat of arms in its composition, an element that underlines its representative and honorific function. Its location, in front of the main temple of the town, reinforces its value as a visual landmark of the historical complex of Segura de la Sierra. The fountain is part of the monumental repertoire of the municipality together with other relevant heritage assets, in an enclave marked by the medieval heritage and by the historical articulation of the old town around the church, the castle and the singular civil constructions.

The Church of Nuestra Señora del Collado is a parish church located in Segura de la Sierra, in the province of Jaén, and it is also mentioned in some sources as a hermitage due to its dedication and historical use. The present building was erected in the 16th century over a previous temple that probably already existed, in a context linked to the importance of Segura as head of the Encomienda de la Orden de Santiago. Its construction has been described with Gothic and Renaissance features, although the available information does not allow to fix with total precision a unique stylistic ascription. The documentary tradition also indicates that in origin there may have been an earlier church, dated by some references to the 14th century, but this chronology should be taken with caution due to the diversity of attributions in the sources. The temple suffered serious damage in 1810, when it was set on fire by Napoleon's troops during the War of Independence, and was rebuilt five years later under the impulse of the Infante Francisco de Paula Antonio. Later it was burned again in 1936, in the context of the Spanish Civil War, which explains the transformations and losses of its movable heritage. In the historical complex of Segura de la Sierra, this church is part of the main monumental heritage of the urban area, together with the castle and other vestiges of its medieval past. Its interest lies both in its religious value and its role in the historical evolution of a town closely linked to the Order of Santiago.

El Lavadero de Góntar is a place in Segura de la Sierra, in the province of Jaén, associated with the source or spring of Gontar. It is located next to the urban center, near the municipal swimming pool, in a mountain environment where the water has had a decisive role in the settlement and in the traditional agrarian uses. The consulted data sheet places the spring at an altitude of 1,120 m and defines it as a spring with a low but permanent flow. The complex conserves two spouts, two large basins and several smaller pools, organized inside a renovated building. Its main interest lies in the fact that it summarizes in a single point the relationship between supply, irrigation and domestic washing: the water historically fed the terraced vegetable gardens on the hillside and, at the same time, served as a neighborhood washing place. Today it is presented as a small heritage and walking landmark, integrated in an accessible and well-kept environment. What can be seen is an element of popular architecture linked to a natural spring, rather than a great landscape, but with strong ethnographic value. It is interesting to visit it for the clarity with which it explains the traditional use of water in the Sierra de Segura and for its visible conservation, which allows us to recognize the original function of the place. Its relevance is local and patrimonial: it is described in the documentation of sources of Gontar and in tourist directories of the Sierra de Segura, and it is part of the network of marked trails PR-198 Segura de la Sierra-Moralejos.

The Mirador del Peñalta is a scenic viewpoint located in Segura de la Sierra, in the province of Jaén, within the Sierra de Segura and the Natural Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas. It is located at the entrance of the town center, on a rocky outcrop that dominates the immediate surroundings of the town and its mountain slope. From this viewpoint there is an open view of the mountain landscape, with the hamlet of Segura de la Sierra, the castle in height and the network of mountains, forests and olive groves that characterizes this region of Jaén. The panoramic view allows to understand the relationship between the historic village and its defensive location, one of the features that best explain the visual value of the place. Its interest resides in the fact that it acts as a natural balcony of easy access for the visitor and as a reading point of the territory, especially appreciated to contemplate the silhouette of the town and the relief of the Sierra de Segura. The very location of Segura de la Sierra, recognized for its heritage and for being part of a large protected natural area, reinforces the attractiveness of the viewpoint as a brief but significant stop. There is no specific dimension of the viewpoint or a specific figure of protection of its own, but it is part of the offer of visitable resources associated with Segura de la Sierra and its scenic viewpoints. It is a particularly useful place for those seeking a first overview of the town and its natural setting.

El Yelmo is a great mountainous elevation of the Sierra de Segura, in the municipality of Segura de la Sierra, which reaches an altitude of 1,808-1,809 m and stands out for its jagged silhouette and its crest. Its relief combines gentler slopes with other more abrupt ones, and is covered by pine forests, holm oak forests and patches of mixed forest, in an environment integrated in the Natural Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas. From the summit there is a very wide panoramic view over the forests of the region, the Tranco reservoir, the nearby villages such as Segura de la Sierra and Hornos, and, on clear days, even other mountain ranges of the provincial and La Mancha environment. It is a natural viewpoint well known in the area, both for its scenic value and for being a reference point for free flight, with paragliding takeoffs at the top. Its cultural and tourist interest is reinforced by the presence of the Cumbre del Yelmo Trail (PR-A 194) and by its role as the setting for the International Air Festival, one of the events most associated with this mountain. The visit offers better visibility on clear days in autumn, winter and spring, when the atmosphere is usually cleaner and the contrast between pine woods, rocky areas and valleys is more marked.

The Plaza de Toros de Segura de la Sierra is a historic bullring located in Segura de la Sierra, Jaén, at the foot of the hillside of the castle and next to the remains of the wall and a tower linked to the old gateway to the town. The municipal and tourist information presents it as one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, and places it in the immediate surroundings of the fortified complex of the town. Its origin is linked to the old parade ground and stables of the castle, so it does not respond to the typology of modern square with perimeter bleachers, but an open space used in the foothills of the mountain. It retains a quadrangular floor plan and lacks protective walls and bleachers, so that the public is located on the hillside, a singularity that defines its heritage character. Because of its relationship with the fortress, the enclave is integrated into the medieval historic landscape of Segura de la Sierra, a town associated with the Order of Santiago and the defensive consolidation of the town in the late medieval period. The castle and its surroundings reflect a complex historical evolution, with medieval remains and a strong Mudejar imprint in the monumental complex. Although the tourist resource is registered as a museum, its heritage value lies mainly in being a historical space of traditional festive use, still linked to bullfighting celebrations during the festivities of the Virgen del Rosario, maintaining a unique continuity in the urban and monumental landscape of the municipality.