Fuenteheridos – Fountain of the Twelve Pipes

Fountain of the Twelve Pipes

The Fountain of the Twelve Pipes is where Murtigas River birth. This spring receives ground water which coming down from Los Angeles Port and Conejales Hill.

The fountain itself was built in early 20th century.

The fountain is below the level of the road; to access it it is necessary to descend twelve steps of marble tiles. The font is rectangular and on it are located the twelve pipes that give the fountain its name. The two taps located at the ends have a hole in the upper part of them, which facilitates the collection of water in the containers. To the left of the sink we find a metal grate that allows the passage of the water that comes to the surface in the recently “rehabilitated” area.
The floors and the basin of the fountain are made of marble.

The building is of great interest for various reasons; the main one is the value that the source has as an identification reference for the town of Fuenteheridos. There have been several fountains that have existed in this locality, but when an inhabitant of Fuenteheridos refers to “the fountain” it is to speak of the twelve spout fountain; the Source is present in the name of the town. The Virgin of the Fountain is the most important invocation for the “paperos” (image closely linked symbolically to the Queen of the Angels of Alájar). But in addition to this value as an identification reference, the space around the fountain (the Plaza del Coso) is a basic space for sociability. Next to the fountain is the market on Wednesdays; In its vicinity are a good part of the town’s bars. The fountain is a space that identifies and with which the inhabitants of Fuenteheridos fully identify, ideologically linked to its origins and constantly present in moments of leisure and work.

It is this spring that supplies water to the nearby orchards, the one that gave the necessary energy source to the mills that have now disappeared, and where the women gathered to wash in the also disappeared laundry room.

Rivera del Múrtigas

Murtiga River is  80,884 km long and has its course in “Doce Caños” Fountain in Fuentheridos and flows into Ardila River in Portugal and has as tributary the Guadiana River. Its main tributaries are Sillo and Caliente rivers. This river goes through the municipal districts of Fuenteheridos, Huelva, Jabugo, La Nava, Cumbres Mayores, Cumbres de San Bartolome, and Encinasola and by the Portuguese town of Barrancos.

Its water shapes a landscape of great beauty with orchards, fruit trees and forest galley.

 Fuente de los Doce Caños
Birth of Múrtigas River
Fuenteheridos