Pozo Alcón

Pozo Alcón, Alto Guadalquivir Region

Pozo Alcón is a town council that belongs to the region of Alto Guadalquivir located at the southern-east point of it, in the provincial boundary of Granada. The municipality limits with the Jaén municipalities of Huesa, Hinojares, Quesada and Peal de Becerro, and with the Granada municipalities of Cortes de Baza, Zújar, Cuevas del Campo and Dehesas de Guadix.

The north half of the town belongs to the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, whose geomorphology changes towards the south and southeast, to the River Guadiana Menor and Guadalentín, where the landscape of Pozo Alcón changes abruptly with wide half-empty areas, very eroded, with esparto fiends and thymes.

The agriculture is the main activity, emphasizing the olive farming, herbaceous plants and almond trees. The stockbreeding is important, being dominated by the sheep and the poultry farming. The bad links we find between Pozo Alcón and Jaén make that it is bound to Baza (Granada) than other towns. The tourism, on the other hand, is being shaped like one future activity in the surroundings of “Sierra del Pozo”.

The history of Pozo Alcón has a key date, 12 July, 1648, when the King Felipe IV separated Pozo from the town called Quesada, becoming free and independent town. That date the town had 191 inhabitants, that to obtain this exemption, they had to face up to the payment of 5.000 ducats to the king.

About its origins, the first written reference we have of this village dates from 1331, in which it makes reference to Pocuelo between the boundaries of Cazorla, but it seems without population. After finishing the conquest of Granada we can observe a progressive colonization of the area known like El Pozo de Campo Cuenca. In 1529 Pozo Alcón was the object of breaking-ups by its inhabitants, who started to cultivate their waste lands. Some years later, in 1572, the place of Pozo was ploughed in his capacity of waste lands by the inhabitants, having seven years later a populous country state with 80 inhabitants and 60 in the area around it. In 1618 it had the hermitage of Santa Ana and the church of La Encarnación.

After obtaining its municipal Independence Pozo had a progressive population increase. In the middle of the XVIII century it had 316 houses, and 600 inhabitants who added 2.227 souls, a parish church, two hermitages, a granary and a hospital. In the town there were produced wheat, barley, rye, oil, wine, cumin and anise. Pozo had three pines and holm oaks woodland suitable for the civil and nautical constructions, which were used to supply the department of Cádiz. Between the main activities of the inhabitants we can find the “arriería” that consisted of going from one village to another selling and buying what they could. The arrieros (muleteers) of Pozo Alcón were known in all the Andalusia and the East geography.

Monuments

Incarnation Church

This church was built around the middle of the previous century on the remainings of an ancient church. The old church was built in the first half of the 17th century and demolished in 1965.

The old church was a rectangular building with the main facade facing Calle Parras and Plaza del Ayuntamiento. On the left part of the facade there was a large window with grilles illuminating the sacristy. On the right side of the old church we would have found the “Fuente Taza”, the symbol of the town. The original church building was apparently demolished because of its rundown appearance. The parish priest, Máximo Marín Dengra, formed a committee to decide upon the future of the church. They decide to demolish it and build a new church on the same site.

The demolition work began in the first few months of 1965 and after a few years of construction work, partly funded buy the people of Pozo Alcón, the new church was completed at the end of 1968. The new church is modern in structure, with a trabeated entrance and a squared base bell tower.

Culture House

Formerly, when there were not telephones in the particular houses, this building was “the switchboard” where there were various pone-boxes for the citizens could communicate. At the end of the 1980´s this “switchboard” disappeared due to the installation of new lines and also to the fact that progressively the citizens had telephon sets in their houses.

In the 1970´s this building occupied temporarily the Town Hall which at this time underwent remodelling Works. Besides the Town Hall it also includes the civil registry and chancery. When the Works finished the Town Hall was moved to its original location and this building bécame the cultura house, holding all kind of acts. The last modernization and accessibility Works took place during the years 2006-2007 and it was inaugurated in May of 2008 as a polyvalent building.

San Gregorio Chapel

Catalina Aqueduct (Catalina Bridge)

Pozo Alcón Gastronomy

The gastronomy of Pozo is substantial and noble due to the contributions of other ages.
It is characterized by the use of surrounding products (hunting, river fishing, poultry yard meat, flour, pulses, vegetables…), the delicious seasoning with spices and aromatic plants and the quality touch that contributes the excellent oil of our olive groves.

Between the typical dishes of Pozo we can emphasize the broad range of starters and salads, we can mention Pipirrana (salad with onion, tomato and cucumber), beans salad, “segaores” gazpacho and “graná” salad. The typical starters of our area are the ajo arriero, ajo de patatas, ajo de bacalao, etc

Between our main courses, we have, noodles with rabbit, Maimones (garlic soups), gachas serranos (oatmeal porridges), Migas de harina (flour breadcrumbs fried with garlic), rice with beans, pepitoria de gallina (stew of chicken with almonds, saffron and yolk), Potaje de Semana Santa (Easter vegetable stew with chickpeas, cod, spinach, oil…), spinach sauce.

We also have to mention the variety of tinned food that traditionally has been made with the regional products: pepper, tomato, fruits in syrup, jam, “guiscanos” (milk caps), cherries or grapes in liquor, quince jelly, rice with honey (typical in Easter).
Between our desserts we can emphasize the floretas (made with eggs, flour and honey), wine bread rolls, fried bread rolls, oil flat cake, tortillas de carnaval, rollos (rolls), etc.

Romerías Local Festivities

• La Candelaria (February 2).
• Romería de San Gregorio (first Sunday of May).
• Festivities to Honour the Patron Saint Ana (July 26).
• Festivals and Pozo Alcon’s Fairs to Honour Saint Ana (from 3 to 8 September).

Natural Resources

• Sierra del Pozo.
• Reservoir of La Bolera (a recreational area and fishing preserves).
• Torcal de Linares.
• Cabañas (2.028 m).
• Puntal del Buitre (2.007 m).
• Guazalamanco Stream.
• Gully of the Río Guadalentín.
• Botanical garden of El Hornico.
• Hill of Las Disputas (1.193 m).

How to get there

You have to take the Motorway A-92 Baza – exit Zujar- Cuevas del Campo – Pozo Alcón (this by the motorway of the Mediterranean towards Alicante, Valencia, or Granada, Almeria, Sevilla)
– From Madrid you have to take the Motorway until Guadix, then towards Murcia exit Bacor – Reservoir Negretin – Pozo Alcón.
– from the Northern area you have to take the Motorway A-315, towards Madrid-Bailén, Úbeda, Peal de Becerro. Quesada – Pozo Alcón.

Distances

Jaén 108 km
Tiscar 17 km
Cazorla 50 km
Hinojares 7 km
Peal de Becerro 42 km
Cuevas del Campo 11 km

Fontanar de Pozo Alcón

Taza Fountain

This is the main fountain in Pozo Alcón. It was used as a watering hole here people brought their animals.

This mean that there were often long queues as almos every family in the town had a horse, mule or donkey to help them work the land on their farms. The fountain as always been a meeting place where people from the town would gather to chat, sat on the stone benches surrounding it.

The “Fuente Taza” has the same source as other fountains: like Caños del Barranco, Cañillo Jorge, Caño de la Virgen del Carmen and the rest of the springs now found inside many of the town´s houses, chosen in ancient times to giveway to the subterranean waters after which our town has its name.

Jorge Fountain

Santo Fountain

Molino Peralta Spring / Peralta River / Enchanted Forest of Las Higueras

Pozo Alcón Town Hall