Its location between the Serranía de Ronda and the Bay of Algeciras preserves one of the most important Mediterranean forest spots in southern Europe: the Alcornocales Natural Park.

Jimena de la Frontera is no exception, with the paintings of Laja Alta, with unique maritime scenes from the Bronze Age in the Iberian Peninsula.

The location of the town, sheltered by hills but reasonably close to the Strait of Gibraltar, meant that its strategic functionality was exploited by the different peoples that have populated it.

Thus, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the site served as a defensive post over the Strait of Gibraltar for the Visigoths, who lost it to Byzantine hands in the 6th century.

The conquerors carried out a series of actions to reinforce the enclave, already called Xemina (from which the Christian name of Ximena and later Jimena would derive), building a new fortification.

The town was in the hands of the Marinids, until 1319, when Ismail I gave it, along with other cities, to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada in exchange for help against Christian advances.

In 1451 it returned to Nasrid power, until in 1456, Enrique IV conquered it definitively, handing it over to Beltrán de la Cueva, beginning the rebuilding and repopulation of the town during the last third of the 15th century.

A few years later, the troops formed in this city participated in the taking of Granada under the command of Rodrigo Ponce de León, for which the Catholic Monarchs gave the town the title of Loyalty in 1493, and later, in 1498, Royal Charter.

The end of the conflicts makes the town lose its military condition in favor of other more productive activities such as agriculture, especially cereal and legumes, cattle ranching and the exploitation of forests, which report abundant amounts to the Duchy of Medina Sidonia.

In the seventeenth century, disputes began with the Duke of Medina Sidonia to obtain freedom from the manorial system, although without any result.

After this conflict, the 19th century passed between shocks, such as Riego's pronouncement in 1820, carried out in Jimena by the "Prince" Battalion, one of the first to rise up and based in the town.

Apart from this, two events determined the development of the town: the decree of suppression of the manors in 1837, which led to the independence of the ducal power and the appointment of the city by King Alfonso XII of Spain in 1879.

With watchtowers arranged in sections, the set of the Torre del Reloj (or Albarrán) stands out, with a bent entrance arch and cisterns from different periods.

Anthropomorphic figures, quadrupeds, geometric motifs, symbols and a complete naval scene in the lower part are situated on the walls: with red and black strokes made with the fingers, with eight ships whose shapes, varied in size and elements of navigation, dates it possibly prior to 4000 BCE.

They arise from the efforts made by Eduardo Boyetet who proposed the idea of smelting weapons in the area to King Charles III in 1761.

An iron mine was near San Pablo de Buceite, whose production would supply raw material to the Royal Artillery Factory and wood (for fuel) would come from the existing forest masses.

It housed a community of Franciscans and, after the taking of Gibraltar by the English, it served as a refuge for the Poor Claires that fled from the Rock.

The church of the Sanctuary consists of a single barrel-vaulted nave with lunettes, which leads to the main chapel and is closed by a dome on horns and a high choir at the foot.

At the top the town and close to the Castle, there are remains of a Gothic church (the Iglesia de la Misericordia): the walls, the vault, with stone ribs and brickwork, as well as the central pointed arch.

This church with a single nave was likely renovated during the 16th century, given the Renaissance details that it has, such as the Ionic capitals on the semi-columns of the interior, on which arches rest.

Jimena de la Frontera is located in the north of an expanse of fertile plains bordered on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Located in the heart of the Los Alcornocales Natural Park and perched on a hill, the Cerro de San Cristóbal, the municipality has a large variety of landscapes.