Gines

History

Gines was named Ab-Gena in the ancient times. Some small funerary ornaments from the time of the megaliths have been found, that would indicate that the inhabitants of this time professed the religion of the Sun and they known art of metal casting. La Pastora and Matarrubilla dolmens, dated about 3,000 BC, are located about 2 km from city center although belonging to the city limits of Valencina. We suppose that the few families that inhabited the land would lead an existence of small farmers and hunters. Later, Gines would be part of the Tartessian territory. In Roman times, Ab-Genna was constituted as a villa. There are signs that Ab-Genna was commanded by a dismissed military, placing the villa in the vicinity of the current Hacienda of the Holy Angel (Hacienda del Santo Ángel), to which more dwellings were added around as the population increased. Although there is no documentation about this subject, we suppose that the small Ab-Genna should have had links to Italica, being a few kilometers apart. After the fall of the Empire, Gines was occupied by the Visigoths until the 8th century, although there is little documentary information on the subject. After the Muslim invasion commanded by Tariq and Mussa in 711, the whole Aljarafe was occupied by Muslim leaders. Ab-Genna was renamed al-Genne or Gines, which in Arabic means Garden of Eden. The Aljarafe was used as settlements for Yemeni and Muladi families, who were at enmity after the conquest because of the distribution of the land. From the Almohad period (12th or 13th century), underground galleries have been found in 2017, located about below the Conde de Ofalia street and measuring about in length. It is thought that they were used to store grain or oil. The conquest of Isbiliya by Ferdinand III in 1248…

Geography

Gines is located on the Aljarafe plateau, at an altitude of 123 metres above sea level and about 6 km from Seville (which is almost at sea level). The municipalities closest to Gines are Bormujos, Valencina de la Concepción, Espartinas and Castilleja de la Cuesta, with which it is surrounded, forming a conurbation. Settled on fertile land with good drain and a low level of erosion, however, the natural environment of Gines is strongly anthropized, as a result of the urbanization of most of the municipality area. The traditional agrarian system, based mainly on olive grooves, has been gradually reduced to its practical disappearance. This process has led, practically, to the non-existence of singular natural elements in the municipality. The relief of Gines is undulating, being the highest areas the old town and El Majelo quarter, and the lowest areas that built near the old basin of the Sequillo stream and those near the former road to Huelva. From a geological point of view, Gines is located within the geological unit corresponding to the Baetic depression, formed mainly by sands, sandstones with calcareous cement and marls deposited during the upper Miocene. Like most Mediterranean climates, Gines is drier during summers and wetter during winters. The annual average temperature is . With an average temperature of , August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest one with . The annual average rainfall is , November is the wettest month with of rain and July is the driest one, with an average of . Snowfall is virtually unknown. The last important snowfall was the 2 February 1954, albeit the 10 January 2010 some snowflakes fell down, without setting.

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,601
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  8,452
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  6,591
• European Greenfinch

  Chloris chloris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,309
• Spotless Starling

  Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1820 · Aves
  5,581
• European Serin

  Serinus serinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,744
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  4,532
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,239

Most recent

• M 4 — 2021-10-19
  8 km W of Villanueva de San Juan, Spain
• M 4.4 — 2019-10-25
  2 km ENE of Olvera, Spain
• M 4.6 — 2014-08-19
  1 km WNW of Puerto Serrano, Spain
• M 3.1 — 2008-11-25
  6 km SE of Morón de la Frontera, Spain
• M 3.3 — 2008-11-23
  7 km SSE of Morón de la Frontera, Spain
• M 2.6 — 2008-10-14
  6 km SSE of Morón de la Frontera, Spain