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Martos
Municipality
View of the rock of Martos from the Manuel Carrasco park.
FlagCoat of arms
Nickname(s):  Ciudad de la Peña (Spanish) "City of the Rock" Cuna del Olivar (Spanish) "Cradle of the Olive Grove"
Location of Martos
Coordinates: 37°43′N 3°58′W / 37.717°N 3.967°W / 37.717; -3.967
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Andalusia
Province	Jaén
Comarca	Metropolitana
Judicial district	Martos
Government
• Alcalde (2023-2027)	Emilio Torres Velasco (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)
Area
• Total	259.10 km (100.04 sq mi)
Elevation	753 m (2,470 ft)
Population
• Total	24,363
• Density	94/km (240/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Marteño/a, tuccitano/a
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	23600
Dialing code	(+34) 953 55 XX XX (+34) 953 70 XX XX
Website	www.martos.es

Martos is a city in the province of Jaén in the autonomous community of Andalusia in south-central Spain.

With a population of over 24,000 people, Martos is the fifth largest municipality in the province and the second in Jaén metropolitan area. The city is physically located on the western side of the Sierra Sur de Jaén, to which it previously belonged administratively.

It is popularly known as the City of the Rock (Spanish: Ciudad de la Peña) as it lies at the foot of a 1,003-metre (3,290 ft) mountain named Rock of Martos (Spanish: Peña de Martos).

As is essentially the case in the entire province of Jaén, the economy of Martos is heavily based on agriculture, specifically the cultivation of the olive tree. With over 22,000 hectares of olive fields (accounting for 85% of the municipality area) and 20 million liters per year, Martos is the largest olive oil producing city in the world, thus earning the nickname of Cradle of the Olive Grove (Spanish: Cuna del Olivar).

Martos is also an important industrial center in inner Andalusia. French global automotive supplier Valeo established a factory in the city in the 1980s, making it the largest business in the province.. Moreover, the low-cost fuel sales company Petroprix was founded in Martos in 2013, becoming the fastest-growing energy company of Europe in 2024.

History

The city has been linked to the Roman settlement of Colonia Augusta Gemella, and starting in the 8th century was ruled by the Moors under various Islamic states for over 500 years.

In 1225, King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon were handed the city from Al Bayyasi in exchange for helping Al Bayyasi in his war against the Almohads in Andalusia. Subsequently, Ferdinand III incorporated it into his kingdom.

During the Middle Ages, Martos became a strategic place, and its defences were reinforced with the construction of numerous fortifications in the city.

At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, Martos underwent significant economic and urban development (reflected in the city's architecture), in large part due to the wealth derived from the industrial production of olive oil. Martos thus became one of the most prosperous cities of eastern Andalusia.

Ecclesiastical history

Around 250 AD, a bishopric was established in present Martos under the name Tucci, on territory from the suppressed Diocese of Iliturgi. It was a suffragan of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sevilla.

In 350, it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Cástulo (now also a titular see), which it regained at that bishopric's suppression around 400. In 715, it was suppressed to establish the Diocese of Beaza.

Recorded bishops are Rogato (675? – 688?) and Teudisclo (693? – ?).

Demographics

According to the National Statistics Institute of Spain, the city's population as of 1 January 2023 was 24,363 people, on a land area of 259.10 km (100 sq mi).

Martos experienced strong population growth in the first half of the 20th century, reaching a peak of over 30,000 inhabitants in the 1950s. However, the population began to decline rapidly due to a lack of job opportunities that led to a massive rural exodus in Andalusia, particularly in the Province of Jaén and Province of Almería. Most of emigrants left for Madrid, Barcelona and the Spanish Levante.

The population stabilized around 1990 and gradually grew until the early 2010s. This growth was motivated by a strong industrialization of the city, which included better road communications such as the A-316 highway.

The 2007-2008 financial crisis had severe effects in Spain and the province of Jaén in particular, as most cities in the province suffered a serious population decline during the 2010s. Martos was one of the few towns in the area that did not experience such declines, stabilizing at more than 24,000 people for over a decade.

In 2022, there were 1,074 foreigners residing in Martos, accounting for approximately 4.5% of the population. This figure is considerably lower than Spain's average of 13%, but double the percentage in the province of Jaén (approximately 2%).

The population unofficially grows during winter due to migrant workers, who come to the city for olive harvest. These workers mostly come from other parts of Spain and the Maghreb.

Politics

The Martos City Council governs the municipality and its members have been elected every four years by universal suffrage since the first municipal elections after the restoration of democracy in Spain in 1979. Because the city's population has always been over 20,000 people but under 50,000 people, the City Council has been composed of 21 councilors in all elections, as provided in the organic law of the General Electoral Regime.

The electoral census is made up of residents over 18 years of age registered in the municipality, whether they are of Spanish nationality or from any member country of the European Union.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has won both the popular and electoral vote in all 12 elections, of which it obtained an absolute majority 8 times (last time in 2023). Despite this, PSOE has not governed in 2 legislative terms: 1995-1999, when the local Agrupación Progresista Independiente reached the office through a tripartite agreement that included the People's Party and Partido Andalucista, and 2011-2015, when Partido Andalucista and the People's Party agreed to share the mayorship (2011-2013 for PA and 2013-2015 for PP).

Electoral results

Local elections results in Martos

Partido político	1979	1983	1987	1991	1995	1999	2003	2007	2011	2015	2019	2023
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	12	13	8	12	8	11	14	11	8	11	10	11
People's Party	-	3	2	4	6	4	4	5	6	5	4	6
Vox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	4
Por Andalucía	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	1	1	0
Ciudadanos (CS)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-
Partido Andalucista	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	4	6	4	-	-
Agrupación Progresista Independiente	-	-	4	3	4	5	2	-	-	-	-	-
Centro Democrático y Social	4	-	7	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Independents	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Coalición Democrática	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

List of mayors

Culture

The town holds several festivals throughout the year:

The most important sports club is Martos CD, a Tercera Federación football club.

Sister cities

Martos is twinned with the following cities:

• Mora, Spain
• Baler, Philippines
• Cellamare, Italy

References

1. "Expomartos reclama un aumento de la calidad". 2006-04-21.
2. "Datos comerciales de Valeo España Sau".
3. ABC. "Petroprix es la primera empresa española del 'Europe's Long-Term Growth Champions'".
4. "Changes in the municipalities in the population census since 1842" (in Spanish). National Statistics Institute.
5. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (España). "Alteraciones de los municipios en los Censos de Población desde 1842".
6. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. "Población por sexo, municipios, nacionalidad y edad".
7. Boletín Oficial del Estado. "«Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General.»" (PDF).
8. Ministerio del Interior. "Mapa electoral". Infoelectoral (in Spanish). Gobierno de España. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
9. La Contra de Jaén. "Martos oficia el "inicio" de la campaña de la aceituna".

• "Martos". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 22, 2005.

Sources and external links

• WikiSatellite view of Martos at WikiMapia
• GigaCatolic former and titular see of Tucci

v t e Municipalities in the province of Jaén
Albanchez de Mágina Alcalá la Real Alcaudete Aldeaquemada Andújar Arjona Arjonilla Arquillos Arroyo del Ojanco Baeza Bailén Baños de la Encina Beas de Segura Bedmar y Garcíez Begíjar Benatae Bélmez de la Moraleda Cabra del Santo Cristo Cambil Campillo de Arenas Canena Carboneros Castellar Castillo de Locubín Cazalilla Cazorla Chiclana de Segura Chilluévar Cárcheles Escañuela Espeluy Frailes Fuensanta de Martos Fuerte del Rey Guarromán Génave Higuera de Calatrava Hinojares Hornos Huelma Huesa Ibros Iznatoraf Jabalquinto Jaén Jamilena Jimena Jódar La Carolina La Guardia de Jaén La Iruela La Puerta de Segura Lahiguera Larva Linares Lopera Los Villares Lupión Mancha Real Marmolejo Martos Mengíbar Montizón Navas de San Juan Noalejo Orcera Peal de Becerro Pegalajar Porcuna Pozo Alcón Puente de Génave Quesada Rus Sabiote Santa Elena Santiago de Calatrava Santiago-Pontones Santisteban del Puerto Santo Tomé Segura de la Sierra Siles Sorihuela del Guadalimar Torreblascopedro Torredelcampo Torredonjimeno Torreperogil Torres Torres de Albanchez Úbeda Valdepeñas de Jaén Vilches Villacarrillo Villanueva de la Reina Villanueva del Arzobispo Villardompardo Villarrodrigo Villatorres

• Municipalities in the Province of Jaén (Spain)