Tradition / Region: Andorran Mythology
Alternate Names: Water Woman of Fontargent
Category: Fairy, Nymph
The Myth
The Fairy of Fontargent is one of the “water women,” ethereal beings tied to lakes and mountain waters, known for their beauty and benevolent nature. Unlike witches, they were admired and even venerated across the Pyrenees.
These beings were believed to depend on water, living near streams, springs, and high mountain lakes. Their presence symbolized purity, calm, and a hidden supernatural harmony within nature.
One of the most renowned among them dwelled in Lake Fontargent. On certain summer nights, when the moon aligned between the surrounding peaks, she would rise from the water wearing a long, flowing silk tunic. She moved silently across the lake’s surface, as if untouched by gravity, in complete stillness.
Her appearance was brief and sacred. At dawn, as the first light turned the lake blue and revealed the stark mountain landscape around it, the fairy would vanish back into the depths.
Over time, traditions say these fairies disappeared from the region, driven away by the spread of Christian belief, particularly associated with the Virgin of Meritxell.
Sources
Valls, À., & Carol, R. (2023). Llegendes d’Andorra. In Encamp-Montellà: Anem Editors p. 55.