Linares-La Carolina Mining District, Mining district in Andalusia, Spain
The Linares-La Carolina Mining District is a historical mining area in the Sierra Morena range of Andalusia featuring more than 60 mining sites from different periods. Underground galleries connect these locations and reveal the scale of mining activity across centuries.
The mining district was exploited in ancient times and reached its peak in the 19th century for lead and silver extraction. Operations continued until 1991 after thousands of years of continuous use.
The area holds some of Spain's earliest sports facilities, including pelota courts and football fields built for mining communities. These structures show how workers organized their leisure time and community life.
Visitors can explore mining history through three museums in Linares, La Carolina, and Baños de la Encina where artifacts and explanations are displayed. Spring and autumn offer the most pleasant conditions for visiting and touring the sites.
The district featured an aerial cable transport system that moved wagons across the hillsides of the Sierra Morena. This network of overhead cables was an engineering solution for moving ore over difficult terrain.
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