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There's a popular saying that goes, “Never say 'I will never drink this water'.” It means that no matter how repugnant something may seem to us, we can't claim that we won't do it or that we are free from it happening to us.
However, in the case of the Font del Lleó in Caldes de Montbui (Vallès Oriental), it is best not to drink, quite literally, as the water comes out at 74°C.
Font del Lleó
It is a fountain that can be reached by a double-access staircase, bounded on one side by large volutes and on the other by a low wall that usually serves as a bench and is located in front of the water jet that springs from a lion's head.
Font del Lleó, thermal water at 74ºC
On both sides of the jet, there are Doric-style columns that perfectly frame the fountain and support a sort of pediment with the coat of arms of the town of Caldes de Montbui. Above, we see a seated lion dominating the whole ensemble. On each side, there are volutes and stone vases arranged. Another detail is that the wrought iron street lamps surrounding the fountain are from the Modernist period.
Steps and columns of the Font del Lleó
There are other curiosities. The oldest part of the fountain is precisely the lion's head where the water springs. And the first documented construction data dates back to 1581.
In 1822, it would have undergone a significant renovation. And in 1927, it would have been restored by the modernist architect Manuel Raspall. Eusebi Arnau was the sculptor who carved the lion crowning the monument, made with Montjuïc stone, and the Fomento quarry provided the two granite columns that currently flank the water spout.
And finally, an important detail. These waters have mineral-medicinal properties because they are hyperthermal and contain chlorine, sodium, lithium, bromine, and iodine.
The jet of water from the Font del Lleó