Last week, on my way home from the exit, I got stuck in front of Kern Bar. There I got into a conversation with two expats who had just moved to the city. Among other things, they raved about the many fountains in the city and the fact that they can fill up their water bottles for free there. The conversation prompted me to take a closer look at the fountains in this city. And I can tell you that I was hooked. Now I know, for example, what the «Aqui lettering» above the Olé Olé bar stands for, how to move a 12 ton piece of stone all the way from Canton Glarus to Zurich without human intervention, or where you can find a fountain that also exists in Berlin.

The Multicoloured

Photo: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Hochbauamt der Stadt Zürich

There are over 1200 fountains in the city of Zurich. But apparently only this fountain from 1575, which stands in Winkelgasse in Zurich's Niederdorf, is multi-coloured. I know it's a bit mean of me to advertise a coloured fountain with a black and white photo. Maybe it will encourage you to take a midday walk there today or use my link to the coloured fountain. And if you want regale your friends with so background knowledge: the fountain is even mentioned in a book by Gottfried Keller and thus has its own place in world literature.

The Berliner

Photo: Wikipedia

If you've lived in the city for a while, you've probably walked past this fountain over 100 times. Or maybe you've come across one that looks exactly like it on Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. This fountain is an original Berlin drinking fountain. It was donated to the people of Zurich by the city of Berlin in 1987. Unfortunately only water flows out of it as the people of Berlin were not willing to stretch to an unlimited supply of «Berliner Luft».

The Mosaic Fountain

Photo: Wikipedia

When I saw this fountain, I thought it wouldn't look out of place in a park in Rome. But no, this is Zurich. It is in front of the Arboretum on General-Guisan-Quai. The Arboretum is a park designed in the style of an English landscape park and is one of the most important garden monuments in Zurich. The fountain was built by the architect Bluntschli, who also built the Enge church in Zurich, for example.

The Olé Olé Fountain

Foto: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Nick Brändli

I have often wondered what the Aqui logo above the Olé Olé bar stands for. Today you'll find out. Aqui is a brand of mineral water that was launched in 1975. Incidentally, the name was invented by Beat Schlatter, who received three gold «vreneli» for it. However, the water could not only be bought in the city's shops, but also bottled free of charge as «Stilles Wasse» at this fountain. The brand no longer exists today. The fountain, however, does. You can find it in the middle of the Hürlimann area. But beware: you can only tap your water bottle here between 7 am and 10 pm. Olé Olé!

The Disguised Fountain

Foto: Wikipedia

When I think of a fountain, I think of something round with, i don’t know, a cherub spurting water out of it’s mouth. But there are also fountains that are not immediately recognisable at first glance. These include, for example, the four grotto fountains, which are located in Rieterpark. The combination of shady trees and the fountains makes it worth visiting the park in Kreis 2.

The Bike Fountain

Photo: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Nick Brändli

There is a story behind every fountain in the city. But this one in particular made me smile. The sculptor Schilt made this fountain in 1937. About 50 years later a train driver, Emil Lörtscher, stood in front of the fountain and noticed that it looked a bit like him when he was younger. He remembered that he had served as a model for an artist in a secondary school class. With the payment from the 60 hours he posed, (he earned one franc per hour,) he was able to buy his first bicycle. Who knows, maybe there is a statue of me somewhere in the city.

The Handpump

Foto: Wikimedia

If you want to travel back in time, you will find a hand pump from Holland on the Hardhof site. With your own elbow grease you can pump water from a depth of 12 metres into the daylight. Have fun on your journey through time. And take your children with you, because the fountain is located in a water playground.

The Heavy Rock Fountain

Foto: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Nick Brändli

It is somehow unimaginable how this well ended up in Zurich. 15,000 years ago, this stone was still in the canton of Glarus but with help from the Linth glacier it found its way to the canton of Zurich. The block remained in a forest in Witikon where it was discovered in 1982 by an employee of the water supply company and later made into a fountain. The 12-ton block shows a mermaid with lily pads and today stands on the Trichtenhausenfussweg.

The Paddling Fountain

Photo: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Nick Brändli

I always enjoy finding out why some places have specify names. and this was recently the case with the Wahlenpark. The park is named after Friedrich Traugott Wahlen from Bern, who lived in Oerlikon for a long time. He was a Federal Councillor and converted the Sechseläutewiese into a potato field during the Second World War. But int the park you can splash around in a pool with a roof specially made to provide shade. And the best thing: Not a potato in sight!

The Emergency Fountain

Foto: Baugeschichtliches Archiv, Nick Brändli

You've probably already used the fountain in the picture to fill your water bottle at the railway station. But it's not only there, it can be found in over 80 places in the city. These are so-called emergency water fountains. They are connected to the spring water network and supply water even in an emergency situation. Thanks to the difference in altitude, the water flows from the spring catchments in the open countryside to the wells in the city. So if there's ever a disruption in the water supply, you’ll know where to find it.

If you are as fascinated by fountains as I am, you can find all the fountains in the city here. And if you're looking for more background information on them, you'll find it in the fountain guides for the various districts of the city. Just click on this link and enter Brunnenguide in the search field. Have fun.

The Fountains Of Zurich