Fountains have been used since history began to add character and ambience to outdoor spaces. This list looks at ten of the more spectacular or fascinating fountains from around the world. Be sure to mention your own favorites in the comments.
The Banpo Bridge fountain at 1140 meters long (approx. 3740 ft.) is the worlds longest fountain. It has 380 nozzles that pump out 190 tons of water a minute. 220 lights in a kaleidoscope of color garnered it the name of Moonlight Rainbow Fountain.
Located in the Suntec City Mall the fountain of wealth was created for luck using Feng Shui . The base is 16,831 sq. meters(approx. 55,219 sq. ft.) and stands about 30meters(1181 ft.) high. Made in bronze it weighs approximately 85 tons and is situated on top of an underground restaurant that allows you to look above and view the ring.
Named for the cemetery site it was built on the Fontaine Des innocents was created by renaissance architect Pierre Lescot and sculpted by Jean Goujon. It was located in the cemetery de Innocents until 1788 when it was moved and it made its way to its permanent location in 1858. The fountain is in the style of mannerists which tend to be tall and thin. The fountain is decorated with plump little boys with wings common to the period.
Also called Jeddah fountain because of its location this fountain is the tallest water fountain in the world. Shooting water measures taller than the Eiffel tower minus the antennae. Water shoots out at 233 mph and reaches 1024 into the sky. The fountain has a maintenance schedule of daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, half-year and yearly checks because of the salt water and high pressure jets. Jeddah Fountain dominates the sky line in the city and was donated by the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz.
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the back drop of what claims to be the largest musical fountain in Asia with the longest light bar. The fountain has 22 different sprays that can be used to create a large folding waterscape. Fire can also be seen at times shooting out of the holes.
The Trevi Fountain is the considered the largest baroque style fountain. The fountain resided at the end of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct (which was built in 19 B.C.). The fountain was designed to represent the many fluctuating moods of the sea. Neptune is the center of the fountain and he is flanked by tritons. Completed in 1762 it stands 25.9 meters high (approx. 83 ft.) and is 19.8 meters wide (approx. 65 ft.). The Trevi fountain is the main theme in the movies Three coins in a fountain, Roman Holiday, and Dolce Vita. The water at the bottom of the fountain represents the sea and standing with your back to the fountain and tossing a coin over your shoulder is a legend that means you will return to Rome.
The Charybdis Fountain is a vortex fountain created by water artist William Pye. Charybdis was a siren who stole the oxen of Hercules. Zeus punished her by striking her with a lightening bolt and turning her into a vortex that swallowed up ships. Charybdis Fountain is the largest vortex fountain. Encased in a clear plastic type polymer with an air-core vortex that rises every 15 minutes gives this fountain look of the water standing alone.
Created by artist Jean Paul Riopelle in 1969, La Joute fountain is a kinetic sculpture fountain. Surrounded by a pool that ignites in a timed ring of flames that lasts 7 minutes and circled by a host of bronze statues of human and animal nature. Jets form over the statues and start to create a dense mist that gas is shot through to form the fire. The whole process last about 32 minutes.
There is nothing too remarkable about this fountain except during St. David’s Day (Welsh St. Patrick’s Day) when the Castle Square Fountain and the waterfall are dyed a deep red. This gives way to their fountain being called the blood fountain. The water stays dyed red from March 1 (St. David’s Day) until March 9.
Created by Alexander Calder for the Spanish Republican government to memorialize the siege of Almaden. This was first displayed in Paris in 1937 during the World Exhibition. Later it was moved to Barcelona. Not knowing the effects of mercury, it was open to everyone. Now it can be viewed behind glass so no harm comes to people from the fumes or touching the mercury.
I strongly think that the Trevi ftns should be #1
@Lifeschool:
ROFLMAO! ‘old man’? too funny.
You cannot call it a “Top” 10 if it doesn’t have the Bellagio. Pretty good list though, number one is fascinating.
@Lifeschool:
So glad someone has heard of these! Though I´m a little shamed to admit I´ve never actually been there myself, my nieces and nephews went once and thought it was the local version of Disney….
love the list,I’m a sucker for a beautiful,interesting fountain
Real cool list
Thanks for the comments. Didn’t call it a top 10 list hence no Belligio fountain(though the title was better than mine). I didn’t come across The Barcelona Magic Fountain in my research or I would have added it to my list. It is a truly impressive fountain. This was my first attempt at a list and a great learning experience for future endeavors. #1 was put in that position because it was found when I was searching for something else and it caught my attention and gave me the idea for this list.
I like this list. The fountains of Trafalgar Square came to mind when I read the title, but it’s okay they aren’t here, learning about new ones is better.
ok yall.. this is to the ones that mentioned the bellagio fountians……pretty please, with sugar on top, dont get mad—-but when i saw the title of this list, i was hoping the bellagio fountians would not appear….partially because i knew a few people would say something about it and partially because ive seen it like a gagillion times. now, for the last part, its not your fault i lived there for 5 years, worked across the street, and had about 125 dates that involved the fountian in some way shape or form. it is cool and it is iconic….no question about it….
its the first part i said, that made me glad it wasnt here….. see….the fountians are so well known and have been seen in so many in movies (2012, 21, oceans 11, 12, 13, the hangover, lucky you, and on and on)…that its icon status has been cemented…..it is ery recognizable..
some of you are gonna think ‘no *****’, ‘thats why it oughta be on there’, but the truth is that its just an 11th fountian for people to learn about, and with other comments, we’ve learned about 15 or so today…not bad
as for the fountian itself, i think it has like 25 or so songs its programmed for, although the 6 or 7 christmas songs are only played from thanksgiving to new years eve, and the 5 patriotic songs are played near independance day, labor day, memorial day etc (when they light up the bellagio in red, white, and blue — instead of purple and blue, like the rest of the year)
bocelli, sinatra and dean martin are clearly the most used artists….the bellagio sits on the old “dunes” lot, and the well was there already, the idea to build that fountian came after they knew they already had the fresh water well and were trying to figure out what the hell to do with it……the shows are 3to5 min, depending on the song, and they never use the same song back to back……it is super cool to be down close to it, although the best vantage point is at the top of the eiffel tower at the paris casino, across the street….oh and the most breathtaking viewing for me, was clearly at the eiffel tower restaurant, (11th floor of the tower)….that is mostly due to the ambiance….its a very exclusive fine dining restaurant, so you are sitting there for a while and get to see 5-7 shows while dining…..i hope everyone who goes to vegas for any reason gets to take it in at least a couple times (the jets obviously shoot out differently for each song, and it goes to the music beautifully)
btw: i gave you sunshiney happy-fountian version of the story….i also want to mention the one *****ty thing, for those of you who may end up in vegas one day and decide to check it out……
they do shows every half hour in the afternoon, and every 15min in evening, until midnight,,,…
and they cancel the shows *a lot*……if its snowing, cancelled, if its windy *at all*, cancelled, if theres something major going on in town, cancelled, if theres lightning within 75 miles, cancelled. and what sucks is that you have no idea, until 3 min before (the jets poke out of the water a couple minutes before each show)..if the jets and shooters dont poke out, *thats* when you find out its not gonnna go on….they announce it right then over a p.a. system, but if youre across the street, or at caesers palace (anywhere above the 5th floor of the hotel) or youre doing a helicopter tour or whatever, you dont have a clue the show’s off……i cannot tell you how many times ive seen people, who have planned their evening a little around one of the shows, standing around waiting, saying ‘what the *****’….
my aunt/uncle/cousins were in town christmas 2006, for 5 days, and my mom visited from d.c., march 2009, for 3 days, and none of them were able to see one show….i mean, in no case did we stand around for an hour and wait, but thats what it would have taken…
….just a heads up…..
and, yes, im aware i spelled fountain wrong about 25 times…..you all know what i meant
@oliveralbq:
i agree completely, I lived in LA before Korea and have been to vegas so many times, with different people who INSIST on seeing this damn water show…. just so common place, I was glad not to see it on this list
Well done michgirl for a first attempt.
I enjoyed the read – Thanks.
@vintageobsessive: Sorry miss, but you are a bit of a buzzkill.
@oliveralbq: Thanks for getting that off your chest; enjoyed the read.
@GTT (64): It looks amazing from the youtube footage (once it gets going a bit) but I’ve never been to Peru – sorry for the mixup.
Its mad how i only live 40 miles from swansea and never seen or heard of that foutain.One other thing how can you say its a welsh st.patricks day,its nothing like that at all and are you irish as you could have stated st.georges day.You could have just said st.davids day and if no one knew they could have just looked it up.Every country in the world has its own day of rememberance or celebration.
@Lifeschool: (75):
–anytime—-anytime…
a direct result of having *so many* people that subscribe to this list just loving to learn things, as i do…great community here…
–and it somehow went over my head (until the comment by @undaunted warrior 1: (73) ) that this was the rookie effort for michgirl,,,,,,really well done..
Cool! THink what would be of you if you ever got inside the dome of the Mercurial FOuntain?
I live in Swansea, and not once have i seen the water in the fountain dyed a deep red on March 1st or any other day. I rarely see water in this fountain at all. The only significant thing about it is that theres a mcdonalds right in front of it
-and its a popular hangout for skaters and emos
I prefer the fountain of the four rivers over the Trevi fountain in Rome. Probably because we stayed so long at the fountain, while my latin teacher explained all the details and the mythology of the fountain. We spend almost no time at the Trevi fountain.
Like many others I also thought of the Bellagio. Any fountain that dances to Sinatra has my vote!
@bluesman87 [1]: best. comment. ever.
Rome is the place I’ve always dreamed of going. Fontana de Treviis is extraordinary!
Have you ever seen this marvel in Zaragoza, Spain?
Have you ever seen this marvel, in Zaragoza,Spain?
One of my favorite fountains is in Chicago. I can’t quite recall the name, possibly the Fountain of Time. It is in Washington Park near the University. It’s a magnificent work of art that depicts history through the ages.
No mention of the Dubai Fountain:
• World’s largest dancing fountain
• Spray heights of up to 500 feet
• 22,000 gallons of airborne water
-situated near the world’s tallest building, in Dubai.
Anyway, I just live in Dubai – I’m a Westerner who just works here, so whether or not you include it is irrespective to me, as its not my country. However, you may want to consider including it for interest’s sake. Or not.
awesome.. thanks for sharing <3
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I’m surprised that Belagio’s fountain is not included.
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I’m kind of bothered that Jet d’Eau in Geneva is not mentioned. Okay, it does not beat any records. But having ONE OF THE WORLDS LARGEST JETS OF WATER shooting almost 150 metres straight up in the air before coming splashing down into ONE OF WESTERN EUROPE’S LARGEST LAKES is an impressive sight. When I used to live in Geneva, I never got lost because I could always navigate around town using the Jet d’Eau.
vt a fountains never forgetable. Its my dream to visit to all the fountains
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