The Cachat spring – formerly known as the Saint Catherine Fountain – is the most famous of the many natural sources in Evian. Built in 1903, at the same time as the pump room opposite, the spring runs all year at a constant temperature of 11.6C.
This mineral water spring is why Evian is known all over the world. It is named after Gabriel Cachat, owner of the garden in which it flowed at the end of the 18th century. The therapeutic qualities of the water were discovered by Count Jean-Charles de Laizer, an aristocrat from Auvergne. Fleeing the French Revolution, he stayed in Evian from June 1790 to September 1792 at Gabriel Cachat's home and drank the water every day. His kidney stones, having made him suffer for years, disappeared rapidly. Analyzed as early as 1807, this water was recommended as a cure for kidney and bladder diseases and became increasingly popular as table water from the 1860s onwards. The Cachat Spring belongs to the Evian mineral water company.
