Literary route of Miguel Hernández

Miguel Hernández

Miguel Hernández died very young, only at 31 years of age, due to the unfortunate hardships that he suffered in prison and that made him seriously ill with bronchitis and later typhus. The premature death of the town’s poet truncated one of the most brilliant careers in Spanish literature.

The province of Jaén has a great impact on his literature, since despite the ephemeral presence of Miguel Hernández in these lands, just 72 days -he arrived in Jaén on March 2, 1937 and left it on May 12-, the poet native of Orihuela has left a transcendental mark, not only in the province, but in world literature itself. This brief stay in Jaén is one of the most prolific of his literary career. His poem “Aceituneros”(Olive gatherers) has become a provincial anthem in Jaén.

Assigned to Jaén as commissioner in the propaganda body “Speaker of the South Front”, he has a very clear mission: to collaborate in the writing of prose and war poetry for publication in the newspapers and leaflets of the front. The newspaper has anonymous editors, among whom Antonio Machado wrote and where Miguel Hernández himself sometimes signed with the pseudonym Antonio López.

A job as commissioner in the Speaker of the South Front that will lead Miguel Hernández, in addition to his stay in the capital itself, to cover the chronicle of the siege of the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza in Andújar and have direct knowledge of the Battle of Lopera .

Web Portal of the Miguel Hernández Legacy

https://www.dipujaen.es/miguelhernandez

Length of the route

10 kilómeters

Estimated duration

4 hours

Type of route

On foot and by car

PLACES THAT MAKE UP THE ROUTE

Jabalcuz hot springs

Although quite far from the proposed Hernandian urban itinerary, one of the places that are linked to Miguel Hernández and that deserve a visit are the Jabalcuz Hot Springs. The hot springs were owned by the same owners as the building of his home and the Commissariat, so he may have known them for this reason. He used to walk or walk up there together with his wife, and sometimes bathed in a pool in the farm. Josefina Manresa remembers these events in the book of her Memories: Memories of the widow of Miguel Hernández: (…) We would go out…

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Institute of Jaén Studies

Institute of Jaén Studies (Instituto de Estudios Giennenses – IEG) is an Autonomous Body of the Diputación de Jaén whose main function is the promotion and study of culture, science and art in the province of Jaén. The IEG is introduced in this itinerary due to its work of documentation and custody of the Miguel Hernández Legacy. A legacy made up of 5,600 records and more than 26,000 images (collections of manuscripts, photographs, brochures, scores, historical press, sound recordings, etc.), with the intention of being a fundamental tool to promote studies and research on the figure and the work of…

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Air-raid shelter

After the bombing of the city of Jaén by Francoist troops on April 1, 1937, which caused 159 fatalities and considerable material damage, measures were taken to prevent and minimize future air attacks: sound warnings, night-time darkness by turning off lights and the construction of several public underground shelters scattered throughout the city. Shelters that, at the end of the war, were abandoned and even forgotten, with significant physical deterioration. One of them, located in the Plaza de Santiago, was built using the old crypts of the Church of Santiago. A shelter that had a capacity to accommodate up to…

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The Orange Trees Square

Continuing in a straight line along Calle Maestra, we turn and climb slightly up Calle Colegio until we reach Plaza de los Naranjos, a beautiful corner brimming with citrus fruits that give it its name and the only space where you can enjoy a beautiful ceramic plate dedicated to Miguel Hernández and complemented with a nice and brief extract from the poem “The last corner”: (…) The orange trees tastes like life and the olive trees tastes like time. And in between their grieving My passions collide.(…)

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Plaza de Santa María (Cathedral of Jaén)

Going up Príncipe Alfonso Street, we access the Plaza de Santa María and the Cathedral of Jaén. Due to the beauty of the environment, as well as its size, it is the best space to delve into the poet’s gaze on the bombing of Jaén, which he reveals through the articles published in Frente Sur in the following days. The author was not in the city at that time as he was undertaking propaganda functions on the Extremadura front, but his wife was present, so the bombing must have affected him in a special way. “(…) Jaén is bombed: the…

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Residence of the poet and headquarters of the Speaker of the South Front

El espacio de la ciudad que guarda mayor relación con Miguel Hernández es la morada donde reside cuando llega a la capital y donde convive con su esposa Josefina Manresa. Esta vivienda se sitúa en el número 9 de la calle Llana –hoy Francisco Coello, número 9–, Palacio de los Marqueses de Blanco Hermoso (existen varias fotografías donde el matrimonio se encuentra en la azotea escribiendo a máquina o en otros quehaceres). Se da la curiosidad de que el edificio, además de su vivienda, también era la sede del Comisariado y donde se localizaba el Altavoz del Frente Sur. Actualmente…

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Basílica of San Ildefonso

This Basilica, declared a Minor Basilica in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI, dates back to the 13th century and its temple is made up of three facades: the oldest, in the Gothic style, is the one at the back of the church; the lateral portal, in the Renaissance style and the main portal (the last to be built) in the neoclassical style. What links this temple to the figure of the poet Miguel Hernández is that the damage caused by shrapnel can still be seen on the façade and it is an excellent place to contextualize why Miguel Hernández arrived…

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Length of the route

1 kilómeters

Estimated duration

4 hours

Type of route

On foot

PLACES THAT MAKE UP THE ROUTE

Josefina Manresa`s house in Quesada

The house where Josefina Manresa was born is still preserved in Quesada, on January 2, 1916. A building that cannot be visited or has any type of museum, just a ceramic plaque where Quesada proudly shows the birth of his favorite daughter in that house. .

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Panels and mosaics by Miguel Hernández

The Quesada town hall also pays tribute to the poet and Josefina Manresa through panels that inform and invite you to visit the Museum and through large mosaics, where the relationship between both with the town is explained. The mosaics located in the Plaza de la Constitución stand out, where the spaciousness of the space and the presence of a music band invite to recite the poet’s verses. .

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Hernándian corners

Quesada has a medieval neighborhood with narrow streets embedded in the terrain, snowy facades and huddled with orchards of pots, which make this town one of the most beautiful towns in the province, and there is no better way to get to know it than through Miguel Hernández and Josefina Manresa. The city council has had the pertinent and timely initiative to further embellish the town through different mosaics in different streets of the Historic Centre, where you can read and contemplate verses and drawings by Miguel Hernández or passages from the memoirs of Josefina Manresa in relation to the…

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Miguel Hernández-Josefina Manresa museum

The Miguel Hernández-Josefina Manresa Museum is the main element that contextualizes the life and work of the Orihuela writer in the province of Jaén. Located on the ground floor of the building that also houses the Zabaleta Museum, it collects a large part of Miguel Hernández’s legacy. The musealization responds to a chronological discourse that runs through the work and life of the poet and his wife, trying to convey the poetic sensitivity of Miguel Hernández and the depth of his life messages; the cultural value of his work and its social significance; the didactic dimension of the poet as…

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Length of the route

3 kilómeters

Estimated duration

4 hours

Type of route

On foot and by car

PLACES THAT MAKE UP THE ROUTE

Trenches

You can find numerous traces of the Spanish Civil War throughout the municipal area of ​​Lopera, since the dividing line between the Francoist and Republican sides was located in the surroundings of the town, popularly known as the Andújar front. You can visit two important machine gun nests next to the Puente del Arroyo Salado, in the area of ​​Las Esperillas, popularly known as “trenches”, which are made up of reinforced concrete blocks, interlocking iron and small pieces of stone. These formidable machine gun nests belonged to the national side and were used as guard posts. The truth is that…

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The garden of the English poets

The Francoist army conquered Lopera on Christmas Day of 1936 without being prevented by the blasting of the bridge over the Salado stream by the Republicans. In the following three days, troops of the Republican XIV International Brigade under General Walter tried to recover the population without success. During the attacks and counterattacks, the British company of the La Marsellesa battalion, reached the first houses of the town, but was forced to retreat. The Republicans suffered about three hundred dead and more than twice as many wounded. A considerable number of casualties, the knowledge of which greatly affected our Oriolan…

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Lopera Castle

The Castle of Lopera is one of the best examples of a castle built by the Order of Calatrava in the province of Jaén. This imposing fortress, which stands out within the old town, has a pentagonal floor plan with five towers and two donjons. This configuration makes it exceptional. It preserves the original walled perimeter, which gives it greater historical and patrimonial value. This castle belongs to the Route of the Castles and the Battles of Jaén. After its recent restoration, the castle now has a fantastic Interpretation Center, whose rooms are dedicated to the Order of Calatrava, to…

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Monument to Miguel Hernández

Lopera pays tribute to Miguel Hernández through a monument in the form of a large mosaic with the poem “Aceituneros de Jaén”(Olive Gatherers of Jaen), which today has become the official anthem of the province of Jaén. In the same square there is a plaque in homage to the XIV International Brigade, in memory and recognition of the people of Lopera for their sacrifice. .

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Casa de la tercia , collection of the battle of Lopera

Casa de la Tercia was the Granary of the town of Lopera, destined to store cereals for loaning to neighbors in times of scarcity. This is of historical interest because Cervantes was in Lopera, between February 22 and 25, 1592, collecting cereal for the Invincible Armada. The building was also used as a cellar for the excellent wines of the area. The town is known as “little Jerez”. Today Casa de la Tercia literary has been given a cultural use. On the ground floor of the Casa de la Tercia there is an exhibition of 54 photographs of the Spanish…

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Length of the route

2 kilómeters

Estimated duration

4 hours

Type of route

By car

PLACES THAT MAKE UP THE ROUTE

Republican command post

There are some images that attest the presence of the poet in the siege of the Sanctuary, some exhorting the troops and others at the command post of the republican troops. This helps the poet to convey in detail the development of the siege, as he explains in On the taking of Cabeza. Letter and clarification. “(…) I attended the combat from the first moments, although without pencil or paper, I do not like nor can I exploit the moment I live, and I prefer to relive it remembering it. (…) South Front. Number 15, May 13, 1937 .

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The Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza

The Sanctuary of Virgen de la Cabeza is located about 32 kilometers from the urban center of Andújar. It stands on the Cerro del Cabezo, in the foothills of the Sierra de Andújar Natural Park, reaching panoramic views of great interest. The primitive Sanctuary dates from the end of the 13th century, and a remodeling was made in the 16th century by the famous Renaissance architect Andrés de Vandelvira. During the siege of the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza, the temple was almost totally destroyed and rebuilt years later by the General Directorate of Devastated Regions and Reparations.…

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