Bassena
In Vienna , but also elsewhere in Austria , Bassena is a common expression for a generally accessible water point on the corridor of an old apartment building. The term Bassena is a cross between the French word bassin for water basin and the Italian word bacino with the same meaning . Usually there was a bassena on every floor in the stairwell, where the surrounding parties fetched the cold water. The device was mostly made of cast iron and was typically enamelled or painted. The predominant color was matt white, the border was often black or dark gray. Newer models also have green or blue borders.
The Bassena was not only the water point of the house, but also a general meeting place. At the Bassena, gossip , called Bassenatratsch , flourished . The gossip could easily lead to arguments and libel lawsuits. The so-called Bassena trials were extremely popular with visitors to Viennese dishes.
Conversations at watering points are prominently handed down in both Christian and ancient Roman tradition and are used in both Christian and civil society as a designation for conversation formats.
Today the word is also used to denote a place where there is a lot of gossip, often with a negative connotation. But it is also used in a positive sense for communication centers in larger residential complexes such as Am Schöpfwerk . Similar establishments such as the “Bassena Stuwerviertel” in the Stuwerviertel also have the expression Bassena in their name.
The basin itself is now often used as a decorative object and is also replenished according to old drawings, while original basins can also be bought at flea markets or in antique shops .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Boris Paraschkewow: Words and names of the same origin and structure de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, NY 2014, p. 34, ISBN 3-11-017470-7 .
- ^ Bassena district center at the pumping station
- ↑ Bassena Stuwerviertel
