There twenty six large fountains at La Granja, each of which is based on different mythological characters. Sadly they only play on selective days during the year and were not on when we visited. Nevertheless they are impressive and formality to the gardens, particularly in the parterres and avenues.
The water system
The water supply is a large pond at the top end of the gardens which is called El Mar – The Sea. This lake and six other reservoirs feed the water through a system of pipes and canals to the fountains and the pressure is sufficient to throw up the jets of water. The custom was that all the fountains only play on 25 August which is the Feast of St Louis the Paton Saint of La Granja. However, there seem to be other days when selective fountains play.
The canals
The canals lead the water down the hillside but are also a feature of the gardens. And I saw somewhere that the canals also fed water to the Royal Glass Factory, but I may be wrong.
The Fountains at La Granja
The large fountains at La Granja really are large, and there are several more which are smaller. They are made of lead and painted to look like bronze or marble.
A water recycling system has been installed in the Fountain of Diana and this plays for an hour at weekends in the summer.
The fountains at La Granja must be extraordinary when they are playing but what an extravagance today! There are many more than shown here but clearly you need to spend a lot of time looking at them and after a while you are fountained-out.
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