Baena

Baena is a town of Andalucia in the province of Córdoba in southern Spain. It is situated near the river Marbella on the slope of a hill 52 kilometres (32 mi) southeast of Córdoba by road. The population of the town is 20,266 (2012).

For other uses, see Baena (disambiguation).

Baena
Municipality
Casa del Monte, Baena
Coat of arms
Baena Location in Spain
Coordinates: 37°37′10″N 4°19′34″W
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Andalusia
Province	Córdoba
Comarca	Campiña de Baena
Government
• Mayor	María Jesús Serrano Jiménez (PSOE)
Area
• Total	362.5 km^2 (140.0 sq mi)
Elevation (AMSL)	405 m (1,329 ft)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	19,338
• Density	53/km^2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST (GMT +2))
Postal code	14850
Area code(s)	+34 (Spain) + 957 (Córdoba)
Website	Town Hall

History

The site of the Roman town (Baniana or Biniana)[2] could still be traced as late as the First World War, with various Roman antiquities excavated from the site.[3] In 1833, a subterranean vault was discovered, containing twelve cinerary urns with inscriptions commemorating members of the Pompeian family.[2]

The hill is crowned by fortifications. In 1292, the Moors under Mahommed II of Granada vainly besieged the citadel, which was held for Sancho IV of Castile;[3] the five Moorish heads in its coat-of-arms commemorates the occasion.[2] The castile was a base for Gonzalo de Cordova and was held in the 19th century by the Altamira family.[2] At that time, it held four parish churches and three schools conducted by sisters of charity. The girls' school held a high reputation in its province, despite not going beyond reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious instruction.[2] Its population was around 12,000 in the 1870s[2] and 15,000 by the turn of the century.[3] Grain and olive oil were the principal articles of commerce in the 19th century;[2] by the time of the First World War, horse-breeding and linen-weaving had also developed, despite the nearest railroad station being at Luque.[3]

At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War the town was the scenario of the Baena Massacre, a ruthless mass-execution of Spanish republicans where about 700 loyalists were murdered by the orders of rebel Colonel Sáenz de Buruaga.[4][5][6] Other estimates mention up to 2,000 victims following the brutal repression in Baena.[7]

High-quality olive oil continues to be the mainstay of the local economy. Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park is located to the south of the town.

Notable residents

• Gonzalo de Cordova[2]
• Juan de Penalosa[2]

Notes

1. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
2. EB (1878).
3. EB (1911).
4. Sevilla FC Forum
5. The massacre of Baena Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
6. Paul Preston (2012). The Spanish Holocaust. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-06476-X.
7. No solo corrieron rios de sangre en Badajoz

References

• Baena at andalucia.com
•  Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878), "Baena" , Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 229.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Baena" , Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 191.