La Foncalada, Oviedo, Spain

La Foncalada is a fountain of potable water located outside the city walls of Oviedo; it was built by king Alfonso III of Asturias in the 9th century. This building remains the only surviving civil architectural item for public use of the Early Middle Ages. Its name was given after the inscription in Latin: fontem calatam written on it. Built in Pre-Romanesque style, it has been included with other Asturian Pre-Romanesque sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List since 1998.

It was originally placed near the city walls, next to an ancient Roman road. The decoration on top depicts the Victory Cross, symbol of Asturias.

This public fountain, which belongs to Oviedo Town Hall, is erected over a spring. The source is a rectangle of about 4 metres wide. It has a shape of a vaulted chapel and is crowned by the royal ensign of the Victory Cross.

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User Reviews

Paweł Kranzberg (3 years ago)
IX century water source. Still working ?

Vladimir Titin (4 years ago)
Original 9th century fountain, one of the few well preserved and in use examples of high medieval civil architecture. Difficult to park nearby, better to walk.

María Eugenia Robles (5 years ago)
It's a historical place however it is careless

Clary Pardo Johnson (6 years ago)
Wish there was more information about this. We needed information about the historical importance.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

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Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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