Ruta Patrimonial

History of water bottling

The first industrial bottling we know about is from 1870. It was then that the Pla i Deniel family obtained permission to export medicinal water under the name “San Narciso.”   

Towards 1880, Doctor Modest Furest i Roca purchased the lands of Puig de les Ànimes to exploit the Gran, Cantera, Xica and Fetge hot spring sources. Initially marketed under the name “Puig de les Ànimes Water,” in 1891 it became “Vichy Catalan.” The bottling plant soon achieved notable success.

In the late 19th century, Sant Grau Hill was purchased by the industrial company Pau Estapé i Maristany, which built the “Imperial Water” bottling plant on what is today plaza del Agua. The project was complemented with the adaptation of the space and the construction of a Modernist garden with the purpose of promoting its product.

Finally, Soler and Prats Thermal Spas bottled the water from the La Mina hot spring source before the Civil War under the names “Prats Thermal Spa Water” and “Catalonia Hot Spring Source,” respectively. After the war, both companies merged to bottle “Malavella Water” which in 1985 was acquired by the company S.A. Vichy Catalan.