Lion Fountain in Bratislava
Statue, monument, memorial plaque
The fountain is a work created by assembling several previously separate, mismatched sculptures. ; The oldest piece is the rampant lion on top of the fountain's central column, which holds the coat of arms of the city of Bratislava. The work, made by an unknown stonemason in 1592, originally comes from the Franciscan Square in Bratislava, where it was part of a - now defunct - city drinking fountain. It was moved from there and combined with its current base in the 1930s, which is nothing more than a 17th-century, Baroque column carved from stone, with several inscriptions on it mentioning renovations in the 18th-20th centuries. This piece originally comes from the famous, built-in garden of the Archbishops of Esztergom, which is of outstanding garden historical significance, but also no longer exists. ; The water basin that forms the current base of the fountain was made in the 20th century. The lion statue currently on display is a copy. The original is in the City Museum.