Ayuntamiento de Uclés

Ayto. Uclés

Fountain of the Horns and El Pradillo

The so-called “fountain of the horns” is located on the right-hand side of the road to Rozalén del Monte, opposite “El Pradillo” park. It has two spouts, probably the reason why it is known as the fountain “of the horns”.

The basin dates from 1882, as the inscription on the front of it states. The wall was restored in 2007 and is what remains today of the water pipe that followed the road up to the Carmelite convent.

“El Pradillo” park forms part of the main woodland area belonging to the town. An efficient network of pipes carries the excess water from the “fountain of the five spouts” to the river, following the irrigation channel through “the walkway” to the park, where it spills into the River Bedija.

This section of the Bedija is known as “the orchard way” in memory of the orchards and vegetable gardens that once lined both banks of the river. The water was retained here and the irrigators followed a strict rota of days and times to ensure that everyone had access to the precious commodity. The largest orchard was owned by Don Fernando; the water from the nearby mill entered via the east side of the land, which lay parallel to the river, and irrigated the crops and trees. The orchard was very well tended and had a house, gardens and walkways.

A few metres higher up, on the same side of the road, you will find two large holes in the rock, the result of karst erosion, which are popularly known as “the holes of the Enchanted Moor”. The smaller one is associated with a woman and the larger one with a man. According to legend, an enchanted Moorish woman lived here and once a year, on midsummer night, she would come out and comb her hair on the banks of the River Bedija.

Just over one kilometre from the town is the Fuente Redonda spring.