Vienna’s New Fountain Cost Taxpayers $1.9 Million U.S. … And It’s A BIG YIKES (VIDEO)
Video of the unveiling has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
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Vienna, Austria has a beautiful marble statue in tribute to the genius composer Mozart who lived his final 10 years there before his death at the early age of 35. The statue, built in 1896 and restored in 1956 after it was damaged one of the times Vienna was bombed in WWII.
That statue looks like this:
Fast forward a hundred and twenty-seven years and the city has chosen a completely different aesthetic.
Vienna decided that the best way to celebrate 150 years of the city’s spring water supply was to commemorate the moment with a fountain.
The fountain comprised of abstract figures was supposed to cost the city €2.1 million ($2.23 million U.S.) but came in under budget at €1.8 million ($1.9 million USD). (Perhaps there were some corners cut on who the artist was?)
On October 23, Michael Ludwig, Mayor of Vienna, and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen turned the water on to “unveil” the fountain.
“150 years ago, the water pipe brought the best quality drinking water to us from the Lower Austrian Alps. The day marks Vienna’s liberation from water shortages and epidemics such as cholera,” Ludwig posted in German on social media platform, X.
“The name of the anniversary fountain ‘WirWasser’ [‘WeWater’ in English] stands for the responsibility that society bears for water. The structurally very demanding fountain was built in just eight months,” wrote Ludwig.
Zum heutigen 150. Jubiläum der I. Wiener Hochquellenleitung hat die @Stadt_Wien dem Wiener Wasser mit einem neuen Brunnen in Favoriten ein Denkmal gesetzt. Denn bis heute gilt unsere Wasserversorgung als eine der besten der Welt. pic.twitter.com/KO24CGIeUY
— Michael Ludwig (@BgmLudwig) October 24, 2023
Der Name des Jubiläumsbrunnens „WirWasser“ steht für die Verantwortung, die die Gesellschaft für das Wasser trägt. Der bautechnisch sehr anspruchsvolle Brunnen wurde in nur acht Monaten umgesetzt und befindet sich am Eingang zum Helmut-Zilk-Park, Ecke Gudrunstraße/Sonnwendgasse. pic.twitter.com/g7UKaodfAs
— Michael Ludwig (@BgmLudwig) October 24, 2023
Someone then posted the video of the official unveiling event with an appropriate musical accompaniment.
(SOUND UP)
A new fountain has been unveiled in Vienna, celebrating 150 years of the city's spring water supply.
This is what they came up with, at a cost of €1.8 million of taxpayers' money…pic.twitter.com/BXPOM3vNbU
— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) October 30, 2023
This thing cost HOW MUCH???
Who was the artist, Hunter Biden?
Have you seen anything so ugly?
It just goes to show you that it isn’t just politicians in North America that treat taxpayers with disdain. It happens everywhere.
