Jaén (province)

Jaén is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Córdoba, Ciudad Real, Albacete, and Granada. Its capital is Jaén city.

Its area is 13,484 km². Its population is 657,387 (2003), of whom just about one-sixth live in the capital, and its population density is 48.01/km². It contains 97 municipalities.

See List of municipalities in Jaén.

Although it is one of the least known provinces of Spain, it has many interesting sights. Jaén has four national parks (one of them the size of whole region of La Rioja), among many other protected natural areas. The province also contains two important Renaissance cities, Úbeda and Baeza. These two cities have been recently declared Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. [http://www.turismoencazorla.com Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas]

The annual chess tournament held in Linares attracts many of the world's best players.

Jaén is the best and largest producer of olive oil in the world. It importance is shown as it produces around 60% of Spanish production altogether.