140 WORLD'S UGLIEST FOUNTAIN

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WORLD’S UGLIEST FOUNTAIN COSTS USD $2,000,000

A new water fountain in the Austrian city of Vienna has been described as the ugliest in Europe, possibly the world, despite costing €1.8 million (USD$2 million).

Created by the avant-garde Viennese art group Gelitin, the Austrian capital’s newest water fountain was commissioned by local authorities to commemorate 150 years of Vienna’s modern water system which has provided the city with fresh water from streams in the green forests of the Alps and helped eradicate plagues like cholera.

The new landmark’s design symbolizes the “community responsibility for water.” It may have won over the selection committee, but it has not done so well with the general public, especially considering its astronomical price, USD$2 million.

Inaugurated in the presence of Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Vienna’s newest public fountain, called “WirWasser” (“WeWater”) quickly attracted mass criticism on social media platforms, with many people calling it the ugliest water fountain they had ever seen, and others going as far as to claim that it damages Vienna’s image.

Despite the criticism, the city government insists that the fountain’s “extraordinary, reality-inspired” design brings a “sense of togetherness.” And while they are being accused of spending too much on its construction, officials claim credit because they actually brought the price down from €2.1 million.

“That new water fountain looks like a 5-year-old created it,” one X user wrote. “What a sad day for Vienna. Many real artists could have done much better and for much less money. Where is the romance, the heritage, the spirit, the history?”

“Did they give credit to the first grade art class for the design?” someone else jokingly asked.

It is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but USD$2 million does sound a bit pricey for this disturbing fountain.

Just for a bit of comparison and in case you had forgotten, this is what Vienna fountains used to look like: