Jaén - Catedral de la Asunción

A town may have existed here since ancient times, it was seized by Scipio Africanus away from Carthage by 207 BC, in the context of the Second Punic War.

Following the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the city became the head of an important territory with some similarities to the current province. Jaén was conquered by the Almoravids in 1091.

Taken in 1159 by Ibn Mardanīš (aka "Rey Lobo"), who was opposed to the spread of the Almohad Empire, it fell back to the Almohads in 1169. In 1225, Fernando III of Castile unsuccessfully laid siege to Jaén. The city was besieged again in 1230 by Fernand who lifted the siege after the news of the death of his father, Alfonso IX of León.

In 1246 Muhammad I of Granada surrendered to Fernndo. Following the conquest the Diocese of Baeza was moved to Jaén.

During the Spanish Civil War, the city remained loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and was therefore bombed by the infamous German Condor Legion flying squadron on April 1, 1937. Current estimates suggest that 159 residents were killed and several hundred injured in the bombing.


The site was once occupied by a mosque which was consecrated as a church after Fernando III of Castile took Jaén in 1246. It was damaged and rebuilt on numerous occasions until the 16th century when the current edifice began construction.

The Jaén Cathedral is an important example of the Spanish Renaissance, though the façade is built in the Baroque style. Andrés de Vandelvira is probably the most prominent of the involved architects. Consolidation works were necessary after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

On display (every Friday) is a copy of the "Veil of Veronica" which probably dates from the 14th century