The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc (, ) is a fountain located at the head of Avinguda Maria Cristina in the Montjuïc neighborhood of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The fountain is situated below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuïc mountain and near the Plaça d'Espanya and

Poble Espanyol The (literally, ''Spanish town'') is an open-air architectural museum in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, approximately away from the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, Fountains of Montjuïc. Built for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, the mu ...

de Barcelona. The fountain, like most of the surrounding developments, was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The fountain sprays 700 gallons of water a second through 3620 jets to create its effect. The highest water spout is 170 feet.

History

The Magic Fountain was designed by Carles Buïgas, who had designed illuminated fountains as early as 1922. The site where the fountain was constructed was the previous location of The Four Columns. The columns, representative of the Catalanism movement, were demolished in 1928 under the orders of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

and were re-erected in 2010 a few meters away from the original location. Buïgas submitted his design a year before the exhibition, with many calling the plan too ambitious, with too little time to complete. The construction project utilized over 3,000 workers. The first show took place on May 19, 1929, the day before the start of the Exposition. The fountain was badly damaged in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and did not operate until 1955, after Buigas oversaw needed repairs. In the 1980s, music was incorporated with the light show and the fountain, along with the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, was completely restored prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics, held at Montjuïc. Performances include film, classical, and modern music, such as '' The Godfather'', ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', '' Gladiator'', a Spanish zarzuela movement, "

" by

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

and

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

, and modern pop songs. Performances take place at half-hour intervals every weekend, with weekends extended during the summer season.

References

External links

The Magic Fountain
at the official City Council of Barcelona website
Magic Fountain of Montjuic in Barcelona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Fountain of Montjuic Fountains in Barcelona Architecture of Barcelona Barcelona Catalonia Sants-Montjuïc Montjuïc Buildings and structures in Barcelona 1929 Barcelona International Exposition World's fair architecture in Barcelona Buildings and structures completed in 1929 Tourist attractions in Barcelona