turjaen | Santa Catalina's Cross

It is a great view point with a cross, from which panoramic views of the city and the surroundings can be seen. It can be reached via a stone pathway that departs from Santa Catalina’s Castle.

According to the legend, which is very important in the cultural heritage of the city, when Fernando III “The Saint” entered the city after the Conquest of the Muslims, he climbed to the Castle with his troops and reached the last peak of “Santa Catalina’s Hill”. He gave it this name due to the apparition of Saint Catalina in one of his dreams (Saint Catalina’s legend). This was the only place on the hills from where they could see the great cathedral, formerly a mosque, which we can still see today. One of the captains of the troop drove his sword into the ground as a symbol of victory. It appeared to be in the shape of a Christian Cross, with the point of the sword in the ground and the hilt resembling the arms of a cross. This caught the attention of the King Saint who decided that from that moment on (the spring of 1246) a big cross must be built to symbolize the Christian Conquest and the Castilian domain of the old Muslim city.

Since then, this legend has become a tradition and the nuns of the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara financed a huge cross that must always remain in this place. The strong wind, typical of the city, has destroyed a lot of wooden and stone crosses that have had to be replaced constantly. Finally, the Bishop of Jaén entrusted the maintenance of the cross to the Balguerías family. In 1950, Eduardo Balguerías placed a cross made of reinforced concrete here, which after a century, and despite the meteorological adverse conditions, still remains

(Source Iuventa Cultural Association)

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Wed 17

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