Alcázar district

You are in the Alcázar district, the oldest part of Úbeda, a genuine medieval core whose layout has changed little for more than a thousand years. Around you, the narrow, winding streets still follow the pattern of the ninth-century Islamic town, when an alcázar, a great fortress, dominated the hill. After the Christian conquest of 1234, this became one of the first neighbourhoods of the new city, and it remains a place where the history of Úbeda can be read stone by stone. It was also one of the major Jewish quarters in the province of Jaén, which explains why it preserves remarkable medieval houses where Jewish, Muslim and Christian influences intermingle. A little farther on lie the Eras del Alcázar, a vast archaeological zone where traces of human occupation more than six thousand years old have been uncovered. You can see some of the site’s outlines outdoors if you turn left at the next junction, but most of it—along with the explanatory material—is only accessible on guided visits. In any case, you’re standing in a place steeped in history, a microcosm of the city’s identity.