Font del gat (water trough)

The Font del Gat or Font de Sant Agustí Vell is a Gothic fountain (reconstructed) located in the Barri de Ribera of Barcelona . It is on the ground floor of the house whose main facade faces Plaça de Sant Agustí Vell and is on the corner of Carders and Tantarantana streets (below which the Rec Comtal used to feed the fountain). Hallados dos nuevos tramos del Rec Comtal de Barcelona  

It is a very significant fountain of the city, since the main use was as a water trough for the horses of the carriages that entered to Barcelona through the Portal Nou.

 History 
The first preserved vestiges of fountains located in roads or public buildings come from the Middle Ages, when the city was part of the Crown of Aragon . It was an important maritime and commercial axis of the Mediterranean Sea . The city area grew from the primitive urban core - what is today the Barri Gòtic - and in the 14th century the Raval neighborhood emerged. Barcelona then had around 25,000 inhabitants. 

In this period, several fountains were created throughout the city, to ensure a regular supply to the population. Just as the industrial use of water was ensured with the Rec Comtal and the channeling of water from Montjuïc to the Pla de la Boqueria, domestic consumption was mainly carried out through wells, which depended on rainfall and they caused supply shortages in times of drought. Thus, at this time several fountains were opened, most of them eminently utilitarian in nature, and therefore there was not much room for artistic creation.

 Demolition 
Until the beginning of the last century, the water came out of a cat's head, which is why it was called Font del Gat, to distinguish it from the one on the other side of the square (more modern Canaletes style ). Unfortunately this original fountain disappeared when the council demolished the house in 1996 to build social housings. In the place where the fountain was, they left an Office of La Caixa d'Estalvis. After a while, when the residents claimed it, the city council made a replica (with three fountains as seen in the photo), since they could not find the stones of the original fountain.

 Gallery 

 References 

 Bibliography 






 Other websites 


 link=Fitxer:Escudo_de_Barcelona.svg|29x29pxPublic art website of Barcelona City Council
 Barcelona fountains, waterways
Category:Fountains
Category:Barcelona