Buza Péter: Spring and Fountains - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1994)

25'

Since the earliest times, the discoverers and users of springs have tried to protect and to artificially sustain, perhaps even increase, the output of these natural wells. The earliest instances of spring tapping only involved spring maintenance and the installation of a somewhat firmer covering than nature itself could provide. Later, permanent constructions were erected above the springs and, together with these well-houses, decorative features also appeared. Some of these thus developed medieval springs can be considered the first genuine ornamental fountains. In Budapest, fountains whose sole function it was to embellish the city’s parks and squares only appeared in the nineteenth century.

CITY HALL