The Ornamental Movement of Water in City Streets 
AT FREIBURG SWITZERLAND 
first purely utilitarian 
would be a pleasant 
task, but it must not 
be attempted in detail 
here. Suffice it, that 
the early Greek foun¬ 
tains seem to have 
been merely reser¬ 
voirs whence water 
flowed through ori¬ 
fices into a basin ; 
sometimes a second 
basin was added, for 
washing. In the early 
Middle Ages foun¬ 
tains were primarily 
composed of three 
basins, arranged in 
longitudinal series, 
overflowing one into 
the next, for water 
supply, washing and 
horses, respectively. 
Next came a compact 
design in three levels, 
with central stand¬ 
pipe, carrying four 
AT BUREN, SWITZERLAND 
arms, touching alter¬ 
nate edges of an octa¬ 
gon basin, which were 
reached by four 
flights of steps. A 
large circumscribing 
square contained four 
basins on the second 
level, for washing 
clothes, and an outer 
square had at its cor¬ 
ners, horse-troughs. 
The central pipe 
took on ornamenta¬ 
tion, and the orifices 
were supplied with 
carved or cast heads, 
through whose 
mouths poured 
streams of water. 
This type was devel¬ 
oped, the upper basin 
was lifted off the 
ground, and the water 
and the stone were 
found to possess 
limitless decorative 
210 
