Viennese drinking fountain
The Viennese drinking fountains were and are set up by the Vienna city administration to offer residents and tourists the opportunity to refresh themselves free of charge.
Types
There are three main types of drinking fountains in the cityscape of Vienna , with a total of around 900 fountains as of summer 2018. These as well as 45 monument fountains are looked after by the Municipal Department MA 31 - Vienna Waterworks and by the Vienna City Gardens .
Old town drinking fountain
The design of the "old town drinking fountain" made of nodular cast iron with a height of 1.14 meters above street level corresponds to that of a type of fountain made since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The water only flows as long as the lever on the back is depressed. Most of these fountains have an additional collecting basin, which acts as a drain, but at the same time also takes on the function of an animal trough.
Because of its old-fashioned shape, these fountains are mainly used in districts with predominantly old buildings.
On the Schwarzenbergplatz next to the Hochstrahlbrunnen , on the occasion of the laying of the three millionth pipe meter in the Viennese water supply network, such a fountain was installed in June 1988 - but instead of the usual black color and therefore called the "golden" fountain.
Stainless steel drinking fountain
The most modern form of the industrially manufactured drinking fountain used in Vienna is the stainless steel drinking fountain. This drinking fountain was developed primarily for installation in newly developed districts with a modern environment. The design was recognized by both the Austrian Institute for Design and the Hannover Industrial Design Forum.
The stainless steel drinking fountain consists of a smooth steel pipe around 1.12 meters high above street level. There is a lever on the back of the outlet pipe that releases the water flow when it is operated. The drip tray with a diameter of about 72 centimeters sits underneath it on a casing of the steel tube consisting of ribs and rings.
There is a ring-shaped collecting bowl sunk into the ground, which also serves as a drinking trough for animals.
Drinking hydrant
The drinking hydrant, which was newly developed in the 2010s, is an innovation in the drinking fountains in Vienna.
By changing the pipe connections in the hydrant housing, the most common fire hydrant models in Vienna, " Old Town ", " Stainless Steel " and " Industry ", can also be fitted with a corresponding attachment with the control valve and outlet pipe without excavation work. Of around 12,000 fire hydrants in the Vienna area, around 700 could be converted to the new double function.
Viennese drinking fountain
Hans Muhr designed a Viennese drinking fountain, also known as the Muhr fountain, which has been installed in large numbers throughout the city by the Vienna city administration with the help of sponsors since 2000 . As a friendship gift, this type of fountain also finds its way far beyond the borders of Austria, for example to
The almost 1.5 m high Muhr fountain consists of a combination of approximately 1.3 m high natural stone - for example various types of marble - and cast parts made of bronze .
At the top sits a cast part that is reminiscent of a small basket with handles. Inside, 3 small water jet arcs arise from two nozzles , which together form a "W" inscribed on the handle.
As the front of the fountain, the largest cast part forms the outlet for the water in one piece, a small basin underneath that merges into a drainage pipe and directs the water into a small basin near the ground that serves as an animal trough.
The stone block sits on four bronze feet and the lid on the floor behind it, which covers the shaft to the fittings , bears information about the sponsor of the respective well.
In contrast to the other drinking water fountains, the Viennese high spring water runs continuously during the warm season with this type of fountain. Thanks to its construction without operating elements, it is vandal-proof and does not have to be enclosed in winter.
The city of Berlin thanked the Viennese drinking fountain with its own drinking fountain, also a design by Muhr. This is located in the 15th Viennese district Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus in the Vienna Water World .
As both the ORF and an Austrian daily reported in 2008, many of these Muhr fountains should be removed from the city center of Vienna, reasons are not known.
Mobile drinking fountain in Vienna
Based on an internal initiative by the water distribution department, Wiener Wasserwerke worked with a metal construction company to develop a mobile drinking water fountain for major events in the city. This type of fountain was used for the first time at the 2008 European Football Championship , which was jointly held in Austria and Switzerland , which is why it is also called the Euro fountain . A total of ten of these drinking fountains, which are almost three meters high and can therefore be seen from afar, were set up in the fan zone on Vienna's Ringstrasse and other prominent places in the city.
The fountain consists of a column made of smooth, semi-matt stainless steel sheet, the circular cross-section of which tapers in diameter - around 80–90 cm at the base - upwards by around 20 percent. Thanks to the thick base ring and 500 kg weight, it is stable. Two sloping surfaces form a striking gable roof . The fountain also has an indentation with a basin and a water dispenser in the middle third of the height at the front and back. A small water fountain gushes sparingly only when a button is pressed below the niche.
At the top of one side, the fountain has fine nozzles that, triggered by a button, deliver a fine spray of rain for a while, which moistens the head and body in order to be able to cool externally with evaporative cooling.
The whole well is lifted by crane over a hydrant - type above or below ground. Its interior is accessible through a side door using a square spanner in order to establish the water connection via a flexible hose but also to allow the fire brigade quick access to the hydrant.
As of June 2015, Wiener Wasser operated 11 of these wells. They are also used temporarily at the Danube Island Festival or the Vienna City Marathon , or in the warmer season from March to October at places with a large number of tourists, such as Heldenplatz or Praterstern.
See also
Web links
Footnotes
- ^ Fountain in Vienna. In: oesterreich.orf.at. 2018, accessed September 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Altstadttrinkbrunnen ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Stainless steel drinking fountain ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ BASSENA employee information for Wiener Wasserwerke, 24th edition, October 2010.
- ↑ Homepage www.wien.gv.at
- ↑ Gratz and Böhm drinking hydrant - technical description (PDF file; 572 kB) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Homepage of the Vienna city administration with information on the Muhr fountain
- ↑ Hans Muhr - drinking fountain
- ^ Vienna drinking fountain on Kurfürstendamm ; Viennese drinking fountain in Berlin
- ↑ New look for the city pedestrian zone. In: oesterreich.orf.at. July 1, 2008, accessed November 29, 2017 .
- ^ Vienna: "Gemstones" for Kärntner Straße. In: DiePresse.com. July 1, 2008, accessed January 28, 2018 .
- ↑ mobile EURO drinking water fountain
- ^ Sima: Wiener Wasser für Fußball-Fans , Rathauskorrespondenz Wien , March 27, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ Vienna: New mobile drinking fountains on the Graben and on the Praterstern in: Der Standard from May 24, 2011.
