the fountain of the spa in barcelona
* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
For those who do not know the Barcelona of before and have not known the transformation of the city from the middle of the 20th century, it is difficult to assimilate the spectacular change experienced.
The outskirts were devoid of large buildings and many of its streets were still dirt, later becoming cobblestoned and subsequently paved.
We must not forget that they had been towns that had small fields on the outskirts and, when they were annexed to Barcelona, urban transport was poor. And those places were the first spaces, on the outskirts of the city, that families found to go out on holidays to eat and for their children to run around a bit.
The fountains that initially had the most visitors were the Fuente del Cuento and the Font d’en Fargas, located within the Horta-Guinardó district, to the south of the Horta neighborhood and to the north of Guinardó, on the Rovira hill.
The history of this fountain begins like almost all times, at the beginning of the 20th century
The current neighborhoods on the outskirts had been independent municipalities and on their outskirts important figures had farmland. Here they had built their farmhouses in the surroundings of some spring for their summer houses, apart from dedicating them to agriculture.
The primitive Farmhouse of Can Fargas had been for many centuries, in the old municipality of Horta. The property was documented from the beginning of the 13th century, it was built in the beginning of the 14th century and enlarged in the 15th century. During the following centuries it underwent various transformations, starting with a quite well preserved Romanesque watchtower.
The estate was very large and brought together everything known as the Guinardó Park and reached behind the Hospital de Sant Pau.
Mas Pujol or Can Fargas was owned by the Marquises of Fargas, which was inherited by their daughter Montserrat de Casanovas Fernández de Landa, married to Pere Fargas i Sagristà, who turned the property around, taking advantage of the springs they had in their land.
They decided to exploit the water from this spring at the end of the 19th century due to its location on Puig Màger, to turn the place into a space for leisure and rest.
In 1900, they contracted the services of the architect Roc Cot i Cot, to channel the water from the spring and design a small cave, in a modernist style, to house the new fountain.
They built around an enclosure with a picnic area, a set of benches and tables made of wooden planks and, in a somewhat isolated place, a row of stoves in which the families could cook.
They built a kiosk to serve people who brought their food or who wanted to cook it on the stove and to sell drinks, wine jugs, coffee and liquors. There was also a counter where they charged the rent for the tables, sold the bundles of firewood and rented pans, paellas and grills.
It was usual to celebrate parties by families or groups of neighbors, with the old radio cassettes. It was a nearby place, for those who did not have the courage to go by train to Las Planas or to the Font del Tort de Moncada and settled for the closest fountains in the Campo del Arpa.
Due to the excellent properties of its waters, both medicinal and for daily consumption, the spring soon achieved great fame.
In 1905 the fountain was declared for public use
Subsequently, the name of the water achieved great prestige that encouraged its owners to apply for permission to sell bottled water.
On July 29, 1919, a Royal Order granted its owners that the water could be sold in their commercial premises on Roger de Llúria street, as well as in several grocery stores and pharmacies in the city, apart from having a home delivery service. (The sale was made with some horse carts).
The group of journalists formed a cooperative to carry out a project of individual chalets for their associates on Paseo de la Fuente de la Mulassa, now Calle de Peris Mencheta, and the other on Paseo de la Font d’en Fargas. The neighborhood, in the middle of the mountains, was chosen as an ideal place to rest and be healthy, since doctors recommend spending time in healthier places far from the big city.
In the 1910s, the Fargas couple presented the City Council with a project for dividing up their properties for the construction of a city-garden. In 1912, from the axis of the Paseo Font d’en Fargas opened. And, in 1915, Verdi Street (currently Pedrell Street) was opened, crossing the Huerta road, today Paseo de Maragall.
On Saturday April 8, 1917, The vanguard published the visit that had been made to the land on which it was intended to build the buildings of the Journalists Cooperative and the celebration of the subsequent food served by the restaurateur Morera from the Font d’en Fargas restaurant, in the chalet of the editor Bono.
On June 20, 1911, on the occasion of the festivals of San Juan and San Pedro, The vanguard It inserted an announcement from the owners announcing the celebration of festivals that would be decorated in the Venetian style.
Over the years, those well-to-do neighbors abandoned their towers, as the city had come in a disturbing way to their homes and many were transformed into schools, nursing homes or civic centers. Others were demolished to be able to build low-rise flats.
Currently, the neighborhood is made up mostly of houses built by large flats, with a swimming pool and have a maximum height of four stories. La Font d’en Fargas is one of the most unknown neighborhoods in the city.
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