Fountain of Union

At the center of a city square in Bratislava stands a gigantic relic of the Communist era. It’s called the Fountain of Union, and it’s the biggest fountain in all of Slovakia.

The fountain was built between 1979 and 1980. It was designed so that water would flow from an underground tunnel before bursting into the air, creating an impressive, yet peaceful spectacle. It takes the shape of the linden flower, a sacred plant in Slavic mythology.

But things aren’t quite right with the enormous fountain. It stopped being maintained after the fall of the Soviet Union, allowing water to seep into and damage its underground control spaces. The water stopped flowing in 2007, and the fountain has been dry ever since. It has been estimated that repairing the fountain would cost one million euros.

Yet though water no longer flows from its depth, the fountain is still worth admiring. It’s as if the fountain has been transformed into a stagnant sculpture; a piece of art that speaks to the city’s Eastern Bloc past.