ROOM 1
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Room 1 is devoted to the Capuchina spring and the origins of Lanjarón’s spa tradition. The photographs and panels here show the town and its surroundings between the 19th and 20th centuries.
This museum stands beside the Lanjarón River, and next to an irrigation channel—an acequia—that runs along the building. The building itself has a past: it first housed a workshop, and later served as the municipal slaughterhouse. Today it holds a different kind of memory: the story of a town shaped by water.
Lanjarón and water have gone hand in hand for centuries, but the centre of this room is a spring with a name of its own: La Capuchina. Local tradition places its discovery in 1774. Then, in 1792, an event changed everything: a Capuchin monk drank from this spring and, according to the account, was completely cured of the ailments he suffered from. From then on, the spring became associated with that story—and with the Capuchin order—and people began to call it “La Capuchina”.
Two centuries ago, coming here was not a brief stop, but a journey. On arrival, visitors found a different landscape, cooler air, and the sense that this water was special. That blend of nature and expectation is part of the spa’s appeal, long before modern comforts existed.
Access to the spring was also very different from today. Originally, it was reached through a small vaulted gallery—about two metres deep and around a metre and a half high—built in travertine. It was almost a hidden room where the water appeared, protected and set apart.
That inner space is now closed by an iron gate. The water still seeps inside and is carried underground to a small structure a little further down, where it is dispensed. The setting may change, but the water continues its quiet, steady course.
La Capuchina is known for its therapeutic properties and is still used at the Lanjarón Spa, under medical supervision. Traditionally it has been linked to benefits for the digestive system. In the museum, however, the question is not only what the water does, but what water has done for Lanjarón—because a spring can mean health, and it can also become identity.
In the 19th century the spa entered a period of great expansion when the Duchess of Santoña acquired it and helped place it among Europe’s most renowned resorts, attracting visitors from across the continent. That era is associated with well-known stays: Eugenia de Montijo, before she became Empress of France; the Dukes of Montpensier; the Moroccan royal family; and figures such as Federico García Lorca. Different names, the same purpose: to “take the waters”, to rest, and to breathe in this place.
The images evoke more than a building; they evoke an atmosphere: promenades, seasonal visitors, and the sense that time moves a little more slowly here. That calm is also heritage—intangible, but unmistakable.
The golden age left behind everyday symbols as well. One of them is the vasera: a handmade carrier, first made from esparto grass and willow, later mostly from willow, used to take water home from the spring. Over time, the vasera became one of Lanjarón’s most recognisable images, especially from the 1950s onward.
Room 2 explores how water organises daily life: the acequias that distribute it, the story of bottling, and the local craftsmanship that grew around this culture of water.
Go to ROOM 2
