Coso de Santa Margarita

Coso de Santa Margarita Plaza de Toros de Linares, 2nd category bullring, takes its name from the gardens facing the same. It was built in 1866 and opened a year later on 9 June, 1867, for the festivities in honour of the patron saint, the Virgen de Linarejos, with bulls by the breeders Miura and the Marqués de Saltillo.

The bullring seats 9,000 spectators. It is circular in shape with a 1.30 m high entry passage and has three floors: ring-side, stands and gallery reached by four staircases, one for each access gate to the enclosure. The facilities include stables, corrals, ten bullpens, caretaker's lodge, offices, changing rooms for bullfighters, ticket windows, infirmary and slaughterhouse.

It is full of history and legend, where there have been memorable afternoons with the best matadors and mounted bullfighters trying luck in their ring. But what remains etched in the collective memory of fans and the reason why the bullring of Linares is world famous, is the fatal goring of Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez “Manolete” on 28 August, 1947, by a bull named Islero. Near the bullfighter's entrance there is a ceramic and marble plaque commemorating that tragic afternoon at the Real Feria y Fiestas de San Agustín.

The Coso de Santa Margarita has hosted other great shows, concerts and events, some of the most memorable being the magical nights of film during the hot summers in Linares.