Basilisk Fountain, Basel, Switzerland

every time i go swimming in river rhine i walk along some basilisk fountains - and i ❤️ them.
around 1850, the water supply of the city of basel with its wells, some of which date back to the middle ages, had long since reached its limits. everywhere in the city there were fountains with large troughs, which had to cover the water supply of the population and the thirst of the horses. therefore, a new pipe system was set up in 1865/66 and more and more households were provided with their own water connection. as the traffic in the city center increased, the fountains, which were now too large, became more and more of a nuisance. solutions were sought. smaller wells sufficed for the households, even in the outskirts. after various attempts, a design competition for a city fountain was announced in 1884. wilhelm bubeck won this with his model, which shows a basilisk as a fountain figure, depicted as the shield holder of the basel coat of arms. according to his idea, 19 basilisk fountains were made and set up in basel. over time, another 30 pieces followed. some have disappeared again, so that today you can still find about 25 such fountains in the city of basel.Read more