Source Marie Henriette

The thermal baths of Spa were built in 1867 , but the question was how these baths should be fed . A mine inspector from France was asked to find a way to supply the thermal baths with mineral water. This man finally turned his attention to Nivezé, where he found 23 spots of good quality ferruginous water . An artesian well was then dug to unite the various sites.

The excavated artesian well has a depth of 19.6 meters. This pipe is connected to a 2850 meter long pipe that transports the water to the thermal baths of Spa. The spring building is largely underground and is closed on one side by a natural stone facade. A stone with the name of this spring, Source Marie-Henriette , is built in above the entrance gate.

In 1930 the Marie-Henriette fountain, with a daily discharge of 375 m³ , could no longer meet the needs of the Terme di Spa and the 65 m³ of the Wellington spring were added . Since then, the spring water from both springs has been transported together via a pipeline to the baths. A few years later, due to the growing demand for spring water, this volume also turned out to be insufficient and the spring water from Tonneletbron was also added . Because the three springs come from the same aquifer , the springs have the same spring water quality.

The spring is named after Marie-Henriette of Habsburg-Lorraine . She was the daughter of Archduke Joseph of Austria and Marie-Dorothée of Württemberg.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Marie-Henriette devoted herself to caring for wounded soldiers.

A music-loving queen and an artist who left behind several watercolors and oil paintings , Marie-Henriette also played a discreet role as patron of painters, sculptors and singers, whose works and careers she encouraged. She was a keen horse rider and took care of her horses herself. Disillusioned with the future of her marriage and family, Marie-Henriette gradually left the Brussels court to relax in the spa town of Spa, leaving the role of "First Lady" to her daughter Princess Clementine. From 1895 she settled permanently in the royal villa in Spa , where she died on September 19, 1902.

Willem Vandenameele