Fountain Karl-Borromäus

The Karl-Borromäus-Brunnen is a protected fountain on Karl-Borromäus-Platz in the third district of Vienna, Landstraße. It stands in front of the district office and the local authority building. The fountain was created by sculptor Josef Engelhart and architect Jože Plečnik, who was a pupil of Otto Wagner. It is one of the few surviving free-standing sculptures from the Art Nouveau period.

The fountain was commissioned to mark the 60th birthday of Mayor Karl Lueger. Its name honours Saint Charles Borromeo, a 17th-century cardinal and archbishop of Milan who was canonised in 1610. The fountain was designed by Engelhart, co-founder of the Vienna Secession, and completed in 1909 after several years of work. Plečnik helped solve the problem of fitting the sculpture onto the small site. The bronze and marble fountain features three groups of figures and a central obelisk.

Visitors find a low circular basin with a three-lobed pedestal. Three sets of five cherubs support basins linked by sculpted groups. On the main side Saint Charles Borromeo heals an aristocratic woman, a mother and a young man. The left group shows figures raising their hearts, the right depicts the plague in Milan and love triumphant. Water spouts from reliefs of vines, newts and fish. The fountain is set slightly below street level to accommodate the differing scales of the figures and the groups.