Hellín

History

There is an archaeological site at Tolmo de Minateda hill near Hellín, with phases of Iberian, Roman and Visigoth occupation. There are archaeological evidences suggesting that the Minateda site may have stood at some point at the Byzantine side of the limes. A tentative identification with the Iyih mentioned in the Pact of Theodemir has been also proposed. Minateda was thus probably known as Madinat Iyyuh during the Islamic period. The Arabic name of Hellín was however Falyān, which eventually evolved into 'Felín', and then 'Hellín'. The importance of the Sulfur-rich mining district in the south of the municipality led to the creation of a mining community in the area (Las Minas), that became a leading producer of sulfur in southwestern Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Railway arrived in the town in 1864, with the opening of the Chinchilla–Hellín stretch on 18 January and the Hellín– stretch on 8 October. Hellín was granted the title of city (ciudad) in 1898. Esparto cultivation increased in the first decades of the 20th century, peaking in importance during the Autarky period of the Francoist dictatorship, with the expansion of irrigated crops.