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La Font de les Monges is a journey through time in Sant Fost de Campsentelles, in Vallès Oriental, which we have visited in La Vanguardia Readers' Photos.
In the heart of Sant Fost de Campsentelles, a historical and cultural treasure is hidden that keeps secrets from the medieval, modern and contemporary era.
A place shrouded in legends, mysticism and singular beauty that has witnessed the passage of time and the transformations of the town.
Dating back to the 13th century, the Font de les Monges is mentioned in ancient stories that speak of a community of Augustinian nuns who lived in the monastery of Santa Maria de Montalegre, today known as the Conreria building.
These devotees frequented the place between the years 1241 and 1362, leaving behind a legacy of tragic legends that still linger in memory.
One of these legends, that of the "nassos" (noses) tree, tells the story of a novice whose beauty attracts the attention of a gentleman from the region. Aware of the danger of her own temptation, the young girl will decide to take drastic measures to preserve her purity.
Curiously, what attracted the knight the most was his nose, knowing this, the novice decided to end that situation to avoid temptations and sins.
One day she took the gardener's scissors and cut her nose to lose her charm and make the gentleman fall out of love, and so it was. The blood of the novice, upon falling to the ground, caused a tree to sprout in that place with red flowers that confirm the fatal event that occurred there.
Legend, steeped in romance and sacrifice, was until recently recounted in a ceramic mosaic on the right side of the fountain.
In 1247, Geralda de Campsentelles and her husband Ferran de Vilanova donated three plots of land to the Montalegre convent, including the Font de les Monges area.
Centuries later, in 1612, the Carthusian Luis de Vera wrote about a fountain that gushes out water in abundance and supplies the nuns' garden.
But the first documented reference with the full name is found in 1783. The book of the Spanish Atlante, a description of the towns of the kingdom of Spain, recounts here the existence of a very ancient fountain called Fuente de las Monjas.
The fountain has witnessed numerous events over the years. In 1869, he witnessed the arrest of eight Carlists and the Conreria forest ranger by the forces of order who ended up being shot in front of Can Gaig, the place where today the Cruz de los Carlinos stands in tribute to the nine murders.
La Font de les Monges experienced its golden age at the beginning of the 20th century. The construction of a modernist building next to it that housed a restaurant and other services made it a popular leisure destination for the Catalan bourgeoisie. Attracting visitors from all over Catalonia.
The fountain was advertised in newspapers as "the most important and picturesque in Catalonia", with coach excursions from Barcelona.
In 1920 the first Sardana meeting was held, which would be repeated in subsequent years.
However, the civil war marked a turning point in the history of the Font de les Monges. Despite reconstruction efforts after the war, the place never fully recovered its past splendor, falling into abandonment and oblivion over the years.
Today, the Font de les Monges remains a silent vestige of times gone by, wrapped in the nostalgia of its glorious past and the sadness of its abandoned present.
Despite everything, its history and beauty persist, waiting to be rediscovered and appreciated by future generations, who may find in its legends and ruins the inspiration to preserve its legacy forever.
A restoration and recovery project could turn it into a tourist and cultural attraction of great importance for Sant Fost de Campsentelles.
The Fountain of the Monks is a symbol of the heritage and identity of Sant Fost de Campsentelles, as recorded in the documentary of the Ecologist Association La Xopera.
