Tourist’s guide to Montjuic Fountain in Barcelona

The show, which shows the magic fountain of Montjuic in Barcelona, ​​is a powerful entertainment event, attended by almost 2,500,000 people annually.

Montjuic Fountain

The fountain is a skillful demonstration of light, color and water interacting to musical rhythms. These components, mixed in the correct proportions, create real magic: beautiful music sounds around the fountain, and the illuminated water jets precisely feel all its notes and react with a rhythmic powerful movement.

Admire the magical riot of water and light of the Montjuic fountain in Barcelona is completely free.

By the way, the name comes from the name of the Montjuic hill, on which the structure is installed.

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History of creation

In 1929, the World International Exhibition was to be held in Spain. The organizers of this event decided to make him a loud advertisement by inventing something extremely special.

It was then that the engineer Carlos Bouigas had the idea to build a magic fountain in Barcelona with color and light accompaniment. The idea of ​​creating such an object was truly fantastic for that time, especially when you consider that the World Exhibition was to begin very soon, and there was little time for construction.

Montjuic Fountain in the evening

And yet, the plan of a talented engineer was able to be realized, and also quite quickly. In less than a year, with the opening of the World’s Fair in Barcelona, ​​3,000 workers built the Montjuic light fountain. Almost immediately, this unique structure was called magic.

In the years 1936-1939, when a civil war was taking place in Spain, many of the characteristic structural elements were damaged or lost. Restoration work was carried out much later: in 1954-1955.

Before the 1992 Olympics, which was to be held in Barcelona, ​​it was decided to reconstruct and improve the magic fountain of Montjuic. As a result, the backlight that had already worked and time-tested was supplemented with musical accompaniment.

Specifications

Carlos Bouigas independently prepared a detailed plan for the construction of a colossal fountain: he calculated the size of the pool, calculated the number and capacity of pumps to ensure the movement of water. To ensure that water was consumed in a minimum volume, the engineer drew up a water recycling plan.

View of the fountain of Montjuic

The Montjuïc Fountain covers an area of ​​3,000 m². In 1 second, 2.5 tons of water moved by five pumps pass through a large-scale structure. The whole “water” picture is formed as a result of the joint work of about 100 individual fountains of various sizes. In total, 3,620 jets of water rise from the Montjuic water basin, the most powerful ones reach a height of 50 m (the height of a 16-story building).

The secret of the special beauty and entertainment of the show lies not only in the dancing water jets, but also in the play of light. Many countries have similar designs with backlighting, but Barcelona is equipped with a unique lighting system. Magic shine can be obtained using special cermet filters and powerful pressure emerging on the surface of the water. To illuminate the Montjuic fountain involved 4,760 sources of various colors and shades.

The entire magic show is accompanied by a variety of classic or modern tunes. For a long period of time, part of the performance takes place under the well-known composition “Barcelona” performed by Caballe and Mercury.

Initially, the service of the magic structure was carried out by 20 specialists: they monitored the flow of water, regulated light and music. At this time, the functioning of the entire system is automated: in 2011, a special device was installed, literally 3 minutes later launching the fountain into action (along with light and music).

Yellow Montjuic Fountain

Practical Information

The magic fountain of Montjuic is located in Spain, in the city of Barcelona, ​​at the foot of the National Palace on the hill of Montjuic. Address: Pl Carles Buïgas 1, 08038 Barcelona, ​​El Poble-sec (Sants-Montjuïc), Spain.

There are several ways to get to this famous attraction:

  • On a tourist bus – he was brought exactly to the destination.
  • Metro. If you use the red branch L1, then you need to go in the direction of Feixa Llarga to the station Pl. Espanya. You can use the green branch L3 and go towards Zona Universitaria, the terminal station is the same. After leaving the subway, you need to go past the tall towers in the direction of the National Museum of Catalonia.
  • Metro line diagram
  • By city bus number 55 to the MNAC stop.
  • By bike – there is a bicycle parking nearby.

The schedule according to which magical performances take place on the Montjuic hill can be seen in the table.

Period Days of the week Presentation time
From November 1 to January 6 Thursday Friday Saturday from 20:00 to 21:00
From January 7 to February 28 all days Closed for maintenance work
March Thursday Friday Saturday from 20:00 to 21:00
From April 1 to May 31 Thursday Friday Saturday From 21:00 to 22:00
From June 1 to September 30 Wednesday to Sunday inclusive From 21:30 to 22:30
October Thursday Friday Saturday From 21:00 to 22:00

 

Before each New Year, the musical and light fountain shows a special, most magical show. Detailed information on this presentation is available on the official website https://www.barcelona.cat/en/what-to-do-in-bcn/magic-fountain.

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Useful tips from experienced tourists

  1. To take good places on the steps closer to the fountain and see its magical “awakening”, you need to come at least an hour before the start of the performance. A few minutes before the start, it will not work normally, and on the upper stairs the music is completely inaudible.
  2. Spectators near the magic fountain
  3. While waiting for the show to begin, and during the show itself, you need to keep your wallets well – so that they do not disappear in a “magical” way.
  4. After the presentation, taxis are picked up right away, so if this type of transport is needed, it is better to leave a little in advance before the end of the presentation.
  5. If you don’t feel like pushing in the crowd, you can admire the play of water and light from afar. The magic fountain of Montjuic is clearly visible from Plaza de España, from the observation deck of the Arena, from the nearest restaurants and bars.

Representation of the magic fountain:



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