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Origin and history

The fountain of the Nine Jets, called Font dels Nou Raigs in Catalan, is a central public monument of Ceret, originally built in 1313 with local marble extracted from Mas Carol. It was originally located in the heart of a small square, before being moved and re-entered in the 20th century when the place of the Nine Jets was enlarged. Its architecture has evolved over the centuries, integrating symbolic elements linked to the political tensions between France and Spain.

In 1479, after the union of the kingdoms of Castilla and Aragon under Ferdinand II of Aragon, a marble lion was added to the top of the fountain, turned towards these kingdoms. This detail became a political issue in 1660, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees: Louis XIV returned the lion's head to France and engraved the inscription "Venite Ceretens, leo factus est gallus" ("Venez Ceretans, le lion s ́est fait coq"), marking the annexation of the Roussillon. The fountain was classified as a historic monument in 1910, but has undergone recent degradations, such as the beheading of the lion during the 2011 feria, restored in 2013 in its original orientation towards Aragon.

During the refocusing work in the 20th century, remains of an earlier fountain were discovered under the current structure. These elements, reassembled, today form a second fountain located behind the church of Ceret. The main basin, initially circular and narrow, was replaced by a larger octagonal marble basin, reflecting the aesthetic and functional changes suffered by the monument over the centuries.

The fountain of the Nine Jets thus embodies the historical upheavals of the region, between Catalan heritage, Spanish influences and French integration. His iconography, especially the bifron lion, and his inscriptions bear witness to the territorial rivalries and cultural adaptations of the Roussillon.

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