Madrid · ES

Fountain of the Water Source

The Fountain of the Water Source (Fuente del Nacimiento del Agua, also known as the Fuente de la Concha) is an ornamental, romantic-classicist monument in the gardens of Plaza de España, on the edge of Madrid's Argüelles neighbourhood in the Moncloa-Aravaca district. Built in 1969, it turns the simple theme of water springing forth into a sculptural showpiece: a long granite basin crowned by two kneeling bronze nymphs who tip their jugs into great scallop-shell valves. Free and open around the clock, the fountain sits within one of Madrid's biggest green squares, framed by the skyscrapers of Torre de Madrid and Edificio España, the Cervantes monument and the brick-and-stone church of the Discalced Carmelites nearby. It is a popular stopping-off point for visitors combining it with the Temple of Debod a short walk away.