route 8 sar river – banquete de conxo Park

This historic fountain is located in the oak grove between Sar and the current Santiago-Ourense road, a couple of meters further north than the original piping, which was taken apart when the terrain was taken up by the train station. However, the situation was very different long ago, as it was surrounded by a forest of chestnuts and oaks, which were very common and plentiful at the time.
According to some documents, its origin goes back to the year 1808, during the Independence War, when Napoleon’s troops were quartered in the Sar Collegiate Church, where they had their encampment. The story goes that the name of the fountain is due to a series of abductions done to captains from the French troops by a group of guerrillas around this fountain, but other possible origins are considered as well. According to the bulletin of the RAG (Royal Galician Academy), the name’s origin is due to Domingo Fontao, who was a captain, and his wife, the couple being known as the captains. When they discovered the fountain, they set it up to gather water, and it came to be known as the Captains’ Fountain.