Category Archives: Fountains

Graben Street (Vienna, Austria)

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Graben Street

The exclusive and pulsating Graben, one of the most famous streets in Vienna‘s first district (the heart of the inner city  centre), is one of the most important promenades and shopping streets in Vienna.

Isko, Cheska and Vicky at Graben

It begins at Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (next to the Palais Equitable) and ends at the junction of Kohlmarkt and Tuchlauben.

It is crossed by Wipplinger Straße by means of the Hohe Brücke, a bridge about 10 m. above street level. The origin of this street dates back to the old Roman encampment of Vindobona.

This shopping street and pedestrian area is surrounded by popular alleys, streets and places such as Stephansplatz, Kohlmarkt, Naglergasse, Tuchlauben and Petersplatz.

Vicky and Cheska

Most of the buildings here, where you can find finest traditional shops with a long tradition and already popular in the times when Austria was ruled by emperors, had origins from the 17th and 18th century.

The Palais Bartolotti-Partenfeld, palace of the Barons Bartolotti von Partenfeld, the only Baroque structure on the Graben that has survived to this day, was first erected between 1794 and 1795 by Peter Mollner and Ernest Koch and was rebuilt in 1831 by Josef Klee.

Formerly the site of Leopold Kozeluch‘s music shop, it was acquired in 1894 by Assicurazione Generali who renovated the facade and added a penthouse. The showroom of Knize (a prominent tailor), occupying the ground floor, was built by Adolf Loos. 

Graben-Hof Building

The Grabenhof (also known as the Thienemannhof), built between 1873 and 1874 by Otto Thienemann and Otto Wagner on the site of the old Arkadenhof, is today owned by Österreichische Beamtenversicherung.   Its roof was rebuilt in 1947 by Alfons Hetmanek and, since 1991, the building has been used as a site for cultural events.

Headquarters of Erste Osterreich Spar-Casse

The present headquarters of the Erste österreichische Sparkasse, designed by architect Alois Pichl, had its origins in 1825 when the bank moved into the house at Graben 21. The bank later purchased three neighboring houses, tore them down and, between 1835 and 1839, had their headquarters built.

H&M (E. Braun & Co. Building)

The E. Braun & Co. building, originally constructed in 1887 for an American insurance company (hence an eagle seen on the top of the building), was originally the flagship store of the clothing company E. Braun & Co. (whose name we can still see on the façade of the building).Today, H&M continues the building’s tradition as hosting a clothing business.

Plague Column (Petsaule). The column’s basic message is that the plague and the Ottomans’ Second Siege of Vienna (1683), both of them punishments for sin, were averted or defeated by the piety and intercession of the Emperor Leopold I.

The Plague Column (German: Pestsäule), or Trinity Column (German: Dreifaltigkeitssäule), a Baroque memorial, is one of the most well-known and prominent sculptural pieces of art in the city.This Holy Trinity column was erected by Emperor Leopold I following the Great Plague of Vienna in 1679.

The top of the column

Right next to Graben and just west of the Pestsäule is the Baroque-style Peterskirche (St. Peter’s Church) on Petersplatz, which is largely obscured by the surrounding buildings, and can only be seen clearly from directly in front.The street Jungferngasse cuts through the pedestrian zone and leads directly to the church.

Peterskirche (Peter’s Church)

Begun around 1701 under Gabriele Montani (replaced by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1703), the church was the first domed structure in Baroque Vienna and its design was inspired by the St. Peter’s Basilica of the Vatican in Rome. Francesco Martinelli was the main architect. It was finished in 1733 and consecrated to the Holy Trinity.

Lowenbrunnen (Lion Fountain)

Two fountains are found on the Graben. Josefsbrunnen, the first fountain, in the southwest, has a statue of St. Joseph and was presumably built in 1561. The Löwenbrunnen (lion fountain), standing on the northwestern end of the Graben, has a statue of Leopold and is decorated with the four lion’s heads.

Statue of Emperor Leopold I

The two fountains were rebuilt, at the behest of Leopold I, with sculptures executed by the sculptor Johann Frühwirth and, later, replaced with lead figures by Johann Martin Fischer. Frühwirth’s statues have since been lost.

Segafredo Cafe

The side streets around Graben, including Dorotheergasse, Stallburggasse and Bräunerstrasse are brimming with boutiques selling Baroque armoires, renaissance chests, footwear, fine carpets, magnificent timepieces, paintings, court perfumery (Nägele & Strubell, etc.), porcelain (Augarten, etc.) and antique court jewelry (Heldwein, etc.).

Dior

Top international labels (Hermes, Mont Blanc, H&M, Escada, etc.) and high end retailers have also zeroed in on this exclusive shopping street.

Giorgio Armani

Unlike other similar streets, shoppers can also take, between shopping trips, a quick respite at quite a number of high-end cafes (Segafredo, Hawelka, etc.) and restaurants (Julius Meinl, etc.).

Burberry

Graben: Vienna, Austria. Shop opening hours: 10 AM – 7 PM, Mondays – Fridays;  10 AM – 6 PM, Saturdays. Some shops open already at 8 or 9 AM and start to close from 6 PM.

How to Get There:Metro U1 and U3 station Stephansplatz.

Michaelerplatz (Vienna, Austria)

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Michaelerplatz

The most common way to enter the Hofburg, one of the world’s biggest palace complexes, is from the extremely irregular, cobblestoned  Michaelerplatz (St. Michael’s Square), a major pick-up point for tours by fiaker  (horse-drawn carriages). An amazing display of the mixed Austrian architectural historical styles, the square (its actually circular) has had its name since around 1850. The square is dominated by the impressive Neo-Baroque Michaelertor (Michael’s Gate), the entrance gate to the Hofburg.

Michaelertor

Here’s the historical timeline of the square:

  • In 1725, the square was redesigned around the plans of Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlachs for the Michaeler wing of the Hofburg
  • In 1729, construction on the left wing began but stagnated during the last years of the reign of Emperor Charles VI. 
  • In autumn 1838, Vienna’s first public gas lighting was installed at the Michaelerplatz via a gas (the gas came from the Roßau gas works via a line)  candelabrum with six flames set up by entrepreneur Georg Pfendler, founder and director of the “Austrian Society for Lighting with Gas.”
  • From 1889 to 1893, the Baroque plans were realized by Austrian architect Ferdinand Kirschner when the old Hoftheater (castle theater), the predecessor of today’s Burgtheater, standing in the middle of the square was demolished in 1888.
  • In 1927, Vienna’s first roundabout was set up at Michaelerplatz.

Palais Herberstein and Looshaus in the background with the Roman Ruins in the foreground

At the center of the square is an open area with the excavated and now exposed ruins of a Roman house as well as some medieval foundations and remains of the former Burgtheater, all seen from street level. A number of remarkable buildings are grouped around the Michaelerplatz.

Check out “Roman Ruins“

Michaelertrakt

The Michaelertrakt, with its curving façade and 50 m. high dome,  dominates the façade of the palace which faces the centre of the city. One of the most exuberant wings of the imperial palace, it was completed in 1893 by Ferdinand Kirschner following the original Baroque design of Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach von Erlach in the 1720s. At the center of this wing is the monumental Michaelertor gate, leading through the Michaelertrakt, to the Hofburg’s inner courtyard.

Statue of Hercules Fighting Antaeus (Lorenzo Mattielli)

Along the sides of the three entrances are colossal statues of Hercules and on both sides of the doorway are large 19th-century wall fountains with sculpture groups done by artists who were alumni of the Akademie der bildenden Künste (“Academy of Fine Arts”).

Statue of Labor of Hercules (Lorenzo Mattielli)

The fountain on the right, known as the Macht zu Lande (“Power on Land”) was designed in 1897 by Edmund von Hellmer and symbolizes the Austrian army. The fountain on the left, known as the Macht zur See (“Power at Sea”), was sculpted in 1895 by Rudolf Weyr and symbolizes the Austrian naval power.

Power at Sea Fountain (Rudolf Weyr)

Opposite the Michaelertor is the grand Michaelerkirche (St Michael’s Church), the oldest building at Michaelerplatz (which lends its name to the square itself) and considered as one of the most historically and culturally significant church buildings in Vienna.  The former parish church of the Austrian imperial court, it is one of the oldest Baroque churches in the city.

Michaelerkirche (St. Michael’s Church)

Originally built in 1221, it was regularly expanded and modified to such an extent that it now consists of an amalgam of architectural styles and its present Neo-Classic facade originated in 1792. Its Baroque porch is topped by Baroque sculpture group, depicting the Fall of the Angels, created by Lorenzo Mattielli. The still Gothic tower dates from the fourteenth century.

The church’s Baroque porch

The Baroque interior is decorated with 14th-century and Renaissance frescoes.  The magnificent, vividly carved, gilded organ, the largest in Vienna, was built by Johann David Sieber in 1714 and was once played by Joseph Haydn.

Fall of the Angels (Lorenzo Mattielli)

At the crypt (only be accessed in company of a guide, the catacombs entrance is off the north choir), you can viewed, in open coffins, well preserved (made intact due to the consistent climate) bodies of parishioners buried here between the 15th and 18th centuries and clothed in their burial finery.

Looshaus

When walking towards Michaelertrakt, we hardly noticed the Looshaus (Michaelerplatz 3), one of Vienna’s first modern buildings, opposite the Michaelertor. Built from 1911 – 1912, it was designed by Adolf Loos  who was influenced by the nascent skyscraper architecture that he had seen on a trip to the United States He employed a business-like style, with straight lines and little or no decoration.

This building, considered an eye sore back in the day, caused quite a controversy and an outcry due to its modern but rather simple, unadorned façade void of decorations, very unusual in Baroque Vienna, so much so that construction was even temporarily halted and only allowed to continue after Loos promised to decorate the facade with balcony flower boxes. Still, the starkly functional upper facade contrasted dramatically with the nearby fine ornate Baroque architecture.

Raiffeisenbank (Looshaus)

The building caused so much outrage on the part of the Emperor Franz-Joseph I who despised the modern façade of the Looshaus.  Declaring that he would never use the Michaelertor ever again, it is said that the curtains in the wing opposite the Looshaus were always closed so that the emperor wouldn’t have to look at it. Today, the Looshaus is a working bank and is considered a groundbreaking example of modern architecture.  Visitors are only allowed into the lobby to view the elegant, richly clad interior of polished timber, green marble and mirrors.

Palais Herberstein

Sitting just across from the Looshaus, opposite Herrengasse, is the  more conventional Palais Herberstein (Michaelerplatz 2). Built in 1896-1897, it replaced the Palais Dietrichstein-Herberstein, an older structure which was famous for its Café Griensteidl, where a group of young poets, artisans and writers known as Jung-Wien gathered on a regular basis.

Café Griensteidl

The café moved to the nearby Café Central in Palace Ferstel, now the most famous of all cafés in Vienna. In 1990 a new, reconstructed Griensteidl Café opened in Palais Herberstein.

Vicky, Manny, Grace, Jandy, Cheska and Freddie at Michaelerplatz

Michaelerplatz: Vienna, Austria.

Residenzplatz (Salzburg, Austria)

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Residenzplatz (Residence Square)

Residenzplatz (Residence Square), a large, stately especially magnificent forecourt in the historic centre (Altstadt), is one of the city’s most popular places to visit. It was named after the Residenz building of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, adjacent to and enclosed by Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom) in the south, the Alte Residenz in the west and the Renaissance–style Neue Residenz (New Residence, erected from 1588 onwards), with its prominent bell tower, in the east.

Check out “Salzburg Cathedral” and “Residenz Palace“

To the north, several historic bürgerhäuser (private houses) frame the square among them the temporary home, at No. 2, of the Baroque painter Johann Michael Rottmayr  where, around 1690, he stayed while creating the ceiling frescoes in the Alte Residenz . The adjacent Mozartplatz leads to the Salzburg Museum.

Check out “Mozartplatz”

The setting for the annual kermesse (Kirtag), celebrating the feast of Saint Rupert on September 24, and the Salzburg Christmas market during Advent, Residenzplatz is also a popular venue for big sports or music events, including public airings of football games, live rock concerts in the 1980s and 1990s (Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Neil Young, etc.) and New Year’s Eve parties. Every summer (July and August), the square is also transformed into an open air cinema where, typically, taped performances of the Salzburg Festival are shown.

Alte Residenz Building

From 1587 onwards, the Residenzplatz, probably the largest and most beautiful of the five squares built at the behest of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau, was laid out, Then called Hauptplatz (“Main Square”), the new public plaza corresponded with the reconstruction of Salzburg Cathedral, according to the Mannerist plans laid out by the Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi.

Neue Residenz

Von Raitenau ordered the cemetery of the former medieval monastery north of Salzburg Cathedral abandoned (remnants of the cemetery were recently discovered underneath the square’s surface). Fifty-five medieval buildings were also torn down to provide space for the square.

Residenzbrunnen (Residence Fountain)

The Residenzbrunnen (Residence Fountain), the richly decorated fountain in the center of the square, was commissioned by Archbishop Guidobald von Thun, a fountain enthusiast, designed by Tommaso di Garona and was erected with Untersberg limestone (Untersberger Marmor) between 1656 and 1661.

Two of the four horse statues on the fountain

Considered to be the most beautiful fountain in the city of Salzburg and the largest and most significant Baroque fountain in Central Europe, it has four snorting horses seem to spring forth from the spouting rock plus giants, rooted in the rock, carrying the lower basin.

Statues of giants carrying the lower basin

Three dolphins balance the scalloped upper basin which is topped by a Triton statue ejecting the waters upwards into the air from his conch-shell trumpet.

The scalloped upper basin with the statue of Triton

In the Hollywood movie The Sound of Music, as Maria leaves to take up her post with the Von Trapp family, I Have Confidence in Me was filmed in the Residenzplatz, through which Maria enters, and the Residenzbrunnen, in which she splashes. Also, during their carriage ride through the city, Maria and the children sing as they pass the fountain. The Anschluss scene (Austria’s enforced unity with Nazi Germany) was staged in the Residenzplatz.

Check out “Original Sound of Music Tour” 

Bird’s eye view of the square

Relatively recently, a patch of the original river-stone surface was revealed, prompting the city to overhaul and refurbished the Residenzplatz completely  with the addition of new paving and a monument commemorating a Nazi book burning conducted at the site on April 30, 1938.

Residentzplatz: Salzburg, 5020 Austria

Kapitelplatz (Salzburg, Austria)

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Kapitelplatz (Chapter Square)

On our way to Hohensalzburg Fortress, we passed by the small but beautiful Kapitelplatz (Chapter Square). This square, a place of concentrated activity in Salzburg’s old town, is bordered by  Salzburg Cathedral, on the south, by the Cathedral Provostry (Dompropstei) and Archiepiscopal Palace in the east, the Novice’s Wing of St. Peter’s Abbey in the west and the Cathedral Chapter’s mills.

Check out “Salzburg Cathedral” and “Hohensalzburg Fortress“

The cathedral as seen from the square

The Cathedral district was comprised of austere, sovereign residences lined up on Kapitelgasse, Kaigasse and Chiemseegasse and Chapter Square was once the site of the Cathedral Abbey.  Until the archbishopric was dissolved in 1803, the high clergy once resided on the square and in the palaces in the adjacent streets. Dominated by the cathedral canon, this area was defined by majestic and imposing residences lined up along Kapitelgasse, Kaigasse and Chiemseegasse.

Cheska, Kyle, Grace and Jandy browsing at one of the souvenir stalls inside the square

The constant water supply of the canal for the millstones of St. Peter and the Cathedral, diverted through Mönchsberg to the Kapitelplatz,  still supplies water to St. Peter Bakery and the Chapter Fountain (which dates from the 17th century) on the square.

Grace, Kyle and Cheska with the Chapter Fountain in the background

Slightly secluded from the spacious square, the fountain (or horse flood) was modeled on Roman fountains and built under Archbishop Leopold Freihher von  Firmian  in 1732 to plans by  Franz Anton Danreiter. The winged horse ( Pegasus ) which once stood there is now in the Mirabell Gardens.

Check out “Mirabell Palace and Gardens”

Te statue of Neptune

Framed by a marble balustrade, it has a niche architecture built in front of the fountain house. The ramp, used by the horses to access the water, leads straight up to the monumental figure of Neptune (God of the Sea), in a high arched niche carried by double pilasters, holding a trident and crown as well as the mane of the horse with one hand and mounted on a seahorse with a fishtail and with water leaping from its nostrils.

The tritones on the left

The tritones on the right

The two water-spitting and much older (made in 1691) Tritones  came to their present place only later.  The water flows in a wide band, under the seahorse, into the lower-lying pool. The Baroque figure, one of the most stylish in Salzburg, was sculpted by  Josef Anton Pfaffinger.  Above the display bell  is a vase decorated with putti with a  chronogram (” LeopoLDVs prInCeps Me eXtrVXIt “) with Archbishop Firmian’s coat of arms found above the niche.

The chronogram above the niche

Filling the square with life are a number of giant communal chess-boards (where people play a game of chess with oversized chess pieces), plenty of colorful souvenir stalls and the “Sphaera,” a work of art by German artist Stephan Balkenhol.

The Sphaera, designed by German artist Stefan Balkenhol, is part of the “Salzburg art project.” Standing about 9 m. high (including the pedestal), this work of art is better known under the slang term “Balkenhol-Mozartkugel.” This abstract, gold-plated, two-ton ball, with a diameter of 5 m., is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic and lies on a wrought iron frame with a weight of 3.5 tons. On top is a 300 kg., bronze male figure dressed in white shirt and black trousers and emanating a neutral expression.

Kapitelplatz: Salzburg 5020, Austria

Carriedo Fountain (Manila)

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Carriedo Fountain

The National Shrine of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, more popularly known as Sta. Cruz Church, is surrounded by three open spaces which, in the 1900s, came to be known as downtown Manila – Plaza Sta. Cruz in front, Plaza Goiti at the rear, and a wide street on the right leading to Calle Escolta. The centerpiece of the 1-hectare Plaza Sta. Cruz is the 19th century the Spanish-era Carriedo Fountain (Fuente Carriedo).

Check out “National Shrine of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament“

Built in May 1882 (at a cost of 745,590 pesos) as part of the Carriedo water works system, it was inaugurated by Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera on July 24, 1882. The fountain was built in honor of Don Francisco Carriedo y Peredo (November 7, 1690 – September 1743), 18th-century Capitán General of Manila, who conceived of and eventually funded Manila’s pipe water system.

The centerpiece of the fountain

A Basque from Santander, Spain and general of the Santa Familia galleon, Carriedo raised funds for the construction of the water system of Manila and donated 10,000 pesos drawn from his fortune from the Manila- Acapulco trade. However, he did not live to see his resolve of creating a water system in Manila take fruit.

The lower pedestal and vasque

The fountain was moved three times before its current location at Plaza Santa Cruz, right in front of the Santa Cruz Church. Since Don Francisco resided in Santa Mesa, the fountain was first located at the Rotonda de Sampaloc, the intersection between Legarda, Lacson and Magsaysay streets which today forms the  Nagtahan Interchange that separates Sampaloc from Santa Mesa.

The upper pedestal and vasque

In 1976, due to traffic concerns, the roundabout was cleared and the fountain was then transferred to the Balara Filters Park, in front of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Building right after MWSS moved from their office in Arroceros, Manila, in the latter part of the 1970s.

Seated female figure holding a harp

In the 1990s, then-Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim convinced MWSS administrator Mr. Luis E. V. Sison to bring back the Carriedo Fountain to Manila. A replica of the original fountain, using plaster as the primary material, was built by National Artist Napoleon Abueva.

Cherub sitting on an urn

Two bas reliefs of cherubs, sitting on a shell-like basin, holding tridents. The water spout is between them

During our visit, the fountain wasn’t operating and the stagnant water in the basin was littered with floating garbage and green with algae.

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

This Classical-style fountain features a large circular basin to hold the water at the center of which is a pedestal with statues of four cherubs holding urns. The pedestal is also decorated by bas reliefs of 4 pairs of cherubs, seated on shell-like basins, holding tridents.

The words “A Carriedo” (the letter “A” is a mystery) and “Manila” (below it) are also engraved around this pedestal.

The pedestal supports a large vasque, above which is another smaller pedestal supporting a smaller vasque. Around the smaller pedestal are four bas reliefs of bearded heads (probably depicting Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea).

Above these heads are four seated female figures, one is holding a trident and the other a harp. This set up is reminiscent of the Statue of Queen Anne at St. Paul’s Churchyard in London (England) which has the seated female figures representing England with a trident; Ireland with a harp; France with a truncheon and a crown; and North America holding a bow and arrow with a quiver at her back, her right foot resting on a severed head.

Above the smaller vasque is an urn-like finial. Water spouts from the top of this finial,   at water spouts between the two trident-wielding cherubs; the urns of the cherubs; the side of the bigger vasque and the inner perimeter of the circular basin.

The words “A Carriedo” and “Manila” engraved on the pedestal

Carriedo Fountain: Plaza Santa Cruz, Manila