Baños árabes

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.