La Font Vella

The municipality of Ráfales is, due to its geological characteristics, rich in springs and water sources. The soil structure combines limestone materials, which are permeable, with clays, which are impermeable, causing water to emerge quite abundantly across the entire municipal area.

The “font Vella” (old spring) is one of the oldest and most visited springs in the village, as its name suggests. Although since the 18th century there was already a spring within the urban centre –the “font de la Vila” (in the square)-, the “font Vella” continued to be widely visited until running water was installed in homes; above all in summer, since it kept the water always fresh. Its flow is quite abundant and has never dried up. According to local memory, during a period of extreme drought in the 19th century this spring had to supply two villages: during the day the inhabitants of Ráfales came to fetch water, and at night it was used by those from the neighbouring village of Fórnoles.

This spring, rebuilt in 1990, is still very popular today, even with people from outside the area, since the chemical and mineral composition of the water, low in limestone, has beneficial properties for health.

Other springs in the municipality with a built structure: the “font de la cova de Parra” and the “font de la Sabatera” (located in the botanical garden), the “font de la Vila” and the “font del Forn” (within the urban centre) and the “Fontetes”, the “font del Pla del Marqués” and the “font dels Casaments” (further from the urban centre),…