La Carolina

La Carolina was founded in 1767 as a planned settlement, with construction largely complete by 1770. Settlers came from various parts of Spain, including migrants from Bronchales in Teruel. In 1795 it became the administrative centre of the Nuevas Poblaciones de Sierra Morena, an intendancy overseeing a string of new towns across Sierra Morena and Andalucía, including what are now municipalities in the provinces of Jaén, Córdoba and Sevilla. That administrative structure was abolished in 1813.

The town later became a significant part of the Linares–La Carolina mining district. By the early 20th century, La Carolina was at the heart of the district's industrial activity, which brought substantial population growth and raised the town's profile within Jaén province. In 1909 a narrow-gauge railway opened, connecting La Carolina to Linares via the main industrial and metalworking installations of the area. Mining activity began to decline from the mid-20th century onwards.

The Church of the Inmaculada Concepción has an unusual origin: it was begun as a church for a Discalced Carmelite convent at La Peñuela, but after the 1767 colonisation was completed to serve the new town as a parish church. A French vicar, Juan Lanes Duval, blessed it on 9 July 1769, dedicating it — at the initiative of Olavide — to Our Lady of the Conception and Saint Charles. The building was enlarged over time, gaining a main chapel and side naves, then two further chapels flanking the high altar during the tenure of the intendant Ondeano. The tower was added in 1899. In late July 1936, the church was badly damaged: the parish archive was lost, along with highly valuable religious images, some of them commissioned from the royal treasury and made by Manuel Adeba Pacheco to designs by Francisco Sabatini.

The Palace of the Intendant Olavide, built in 1775 in neoclassical style, stands in the central square beside the church. Other points of interest include the Hermitage of San Juan de la Cruz, a monument to San Juan de la Cruz, the Customs Towers, the town hall, the former prison, the Foundation monoliths, a monument to the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and the town's mining heritage.