What we don’t see from the Montjuïc Magic Fountain

Either as a tourist or as a local resident of Barcelona you have probably attended the show of music, lights and water in the Fountain of Montjuïc some time. From the outside everything looks more or less simple, but behind this weekly show there is a lot of work, scheduling, workers, coordinate logistics, and creative implementation. If you want to know what happens “behind the scenes” of the Fountain of Montjuïc, in this article we reveal some details. At ShBarcelona we were very surprised with some of the “secrets” are revealed here, thanks to the blog “La Meva Barcelona” for these valuable data.

Some history before getting there

This place known as Magic Fountain and located on the Avenida Maria Cristina near the Plaza España, was inaugurated on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1929 and designed by Carles Buigas in the place where there were 4 columns by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, which were recently reconstructed. After several transformations and damage, the fountain was restored, and in 1976 began to play music along with water movement, but it was not until 1990 that the remote computer was installed.

In the basement of the source are the engines that drive all it requires operation during the show, as fans who are responsible for cooling the water that is heated by the light bulbs. From there we can find several rooms:

–The Bartomeu Paulis i Basart room: found just below the fountain stopped working in the 70’s but there are still some 1929 original features.

–The Francesc Vea i Estivill Pump Room: where are the pumps that “pump” water to 24 different water “games”, each with its shape, which can be used individually or combined. For example, one of the games is the central fountain that reaches up to 30 meters high. The source has a total of 3620 pumps which use 3100 cubic meters of groundwater. The light is provided by 4760 light bulbs passing through a prism of colors resulting in the spectacle that we see from outside.

-The Control Room: and all this needs a room from which is controlled. The control room is located on the outside of the fountain for those who work there to see the result of their work.

You must not miss this great show that annually receives 2.5 million visitors, and is totally free. Click here for the schedule and times throughout the year.