In Herve, a town between Liège (Belgium) and Aachen (Germany), a brick building with 7 arches covers the town’s main water source. It is located below the town centre. The building was built in 1894. It replaced the old woollen washhouse dating from 1783, which had only two wells.
Despite the relocation of the textile industry to the Vesdre Valley in the 19th century, the growth of the population and the need for water led to conflicts between users.In order to solve the problem, the water supply was divided into seven wells, six of which flow into large basins made of limestone. They are known as the Six Fontaines or Six Batches.
From left to right, each had its own function:
- Lu batch à djvas (the horse basin) for watering the animals;
- Lu batch à pourcès (the pig bath) for washing the pigs after burning their bristles;
- Lu grand batch (the big tub) for the washerwomen;
- The central well for filling water buckets;
- Lu p’tit batch (the small tub) for washing sausage casings;
- Lu reû batch (the stiff tub – difficult to translate) for domestic use;
- Lu batch Lecomte (the Lecomte tub), named after an old family in the town who drank only this water, said to be the best.
The water comes from the same source and the six wells do not have different characteristics, contrary to what many people think.Finally, according to a legend, on Christmas Eve, wine is said to gush out of the Lecomte fountain. However, anyone who tried to drink it would be “struck dead.”