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Memorial fountain, 1875

Clean water – fewer deaths

The decorative memorial fountain recalls the connection of Vienna General Hospital with the First Vienna Spring Water Main in 1875 under Director Josef Hoffmann (1869-1887).

The fountain was built in 1887 on the central axis from the main entrance to the chapel and Fool’s Tower after the number of cholera deaths had radically decreased thanks to the improved water supply.

Next to the fountain there is another reference to water from the early days of the General Hospital. In court 4 there is a baroque statue of Johann Nepomuk which once stood on a bridge over the Alserbach stream, which today flows through vaults below Lazarettgasse and Spitalgasse. The saint was thought to protect against water hazards and flooding.

In addition, the Suess Gate recalls the supply line’s planner. Eduard Suess (1831-1914) was a tenured professor of geology at Vienna University from 1867 and planned the transportation of mountain spring water from the border of Lower Austria with Styria over around 100km to Vienna.

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