On the plaza in Plzeň, new fountains will be installed starting in July

Plzeň - The city of Plzeň has started construction work for the installation of new fountains. Currently, a specialized company is preparing the three corners of the central Republic square for the installation of new objects made according to the designs of Prague architect Ondřej Císler. The fountains themselves are already completed and will appear in the square at the end of July. The costs of their creation, including installation, amount to approximately 26 million CZK. This information was provided to ČTK by the spokesperson of the city hall, Edita Vighová.
    "The city slightly postponed the installation start due to the celebrations of liberation. However, this did not affect the finishing work on the fountains, which have already been manufactured. Their technologically demanding processing, which partially took place in China, was completed in April,” she stated.
    The final stage before the actual installation began the week before last, when the construction company started working on the foundations for the fountains and the equipment for the shafts in the corners of the square. "We dismantled the pavement, performed earthworks, uncovered existing foundations that were prepared from the previous stage of the square's reconstruction. We are now pouring the foundations and installing the technology for the shafts,” said Tomáš Kunc, regional director of the construction company Swietelsky, which is the general contractor for the project. At the beginning of June, the company should start assembling the first stone bowl of one of the fountains and then install the first two spouts.
    The trio of modern fountains will stand in three corners of the square as they once did, with a plague column in the fourth corner. "The installation does not involve overly extensive interventions. During the reconstruction of the square in 2007, when the asphalt surface was replaced with paving from Italian porphyry, we prepared the necessary technological background,” said technical deputy Petr Rund.
    The final appearance of the Plzeň fountains was decided by a professional jury in 2003. The winning design by architect Císler was selected from a total of 30. The fountains will return to the center after more than 125 years, restoring water to the square. The spouts named Angel, Camel, and Greyhound, however, have elicited mixed reactions. Many Plzeň residents are convinced that the modern fountains do not fit with the Gothic St. Bartholomew's Cathedral and the Renaissance Town Hall. Císler and several experts argue that the fountains were specifically created for the square, correspond with it, enhance it, while also not overshadowing the valuable historical buildings here.