The Holidays are here and what better way to enjoy such a great time than to travel? This week our journey take us to Barcelona, Spain! Home of one of the world’s best football teams, FC Barcelona. Barcelona is also known as being a collection of great architecture and art.
From the City’s iconic Camp Nou stadium, our destination takes us South East to one of Barcelona’s most popular locations, the Plaça d’Espanya – another monument made for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. Following the Avenida Maria Christina to the end we encounter the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.
The Fountain is sits on the porch of the national palace but also near a very important Italian styled building erected back in 1929, known as the National Art Museum of Catalonia. While the building has been standing for 84 years, it was only until 1990 that it was made into a national museum.
However, our focus today is not on historic buildings or intense soccer rivalry known as ‘el clasico,’ but on the very special Magic Fountain of Montjuic. The fountain was built for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition and was completed just a day before the exposition began.
Carles Buigas, the fountain’s engineer and designer faced some opposition when he proposed to build a fountain that would rely on mechanical jets to shoot streams of water into the air. Many argued that the project would not be completed in a year’s time for the Barcelona International Exposition.
Over the years the fountain has seen many changes and renovations. During the Spanish Civil war, the fountain was badly damaged and was not operational until 1955. In the 80s the fountain added music and for the 1992 Summer Olympics, the fountain was completely restored.
The fountain pumps 2,600 litters of water per second and reticulates water using 3 concentric pools. The fountains jets are illuminated to give a great fountain lighting experience. The fountain design has stayed virtually unchanged despite many renovations during the years. Many say this was one of the first fountains to synchronize music with lights and water, and remains to this day one of Barcelona’s most popular attractions.
The Fountain Explorer 