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Castelo de Vide
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On foot · 2–3 hours

Guide to Fountains & Fontanários

The town can be read through its water: from the 16th-century Fonte da Vila to small street fountains and the old thermal bathhouse.

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Fonte da Vila, Castelo de Vide
Photo: F nando — CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons

Water is the least obvious raw material in Castelo de Vide's heritage, and perhaps the most continuous. The first written reference to the waters of Fonte da Vila dates to 1706; scientific recognition of their properties came in 1918, from the chemist Charles Lepierre.

This route links the major fountains to small neighbourhood fontanários and ends at the 1942 bathhouse building. It partly overlaps the municipal PR5 walking trail.

Stops

  1. 1

    Fonte da Vila (16th c.)

    At the heart of the Judiaria; a rare daily meeting point between Jews and Christians.

  2. 2

    Fonte da Mealhada

    Vitalis mineral water is bottled nearby and still sold nationally.

  3. 3

    Street fontanários

    Small spouts scattered through the historic core, still in use.

  4. 4

    Former thermal bathhouse (1942)

    Built 20 metres from Fonte da Vila, diverting its flow; operated until the early 1990s.