Böst, Bronze fountain in Trelleborg, Sweden

Böst is a bronze fountain by Fred Åberg, placed in 1996 on Trelleborg's pedestrian street at the corner of Algatan and Corfitz Beck-Friisgatan. Six pairs of female legs in high-heeled shoes stand close together beneath a large umbrella, modelled on the artist's wife Margareta and daughter Hanna Åberg. Between two umbrellas a hand reaches out to feel whether the rain will stop.

Böst was unveiled in 1996 on Trelleborg's pedestrian street at the corner of Algatan and Corfitz Beck-Friisgatan. It is the first of five public works by the Malmö sculptor Fred Åberg in the town; his later pieces there include Nu badar vi (2000), Sittande flicka (2004) and Nästan Halvvägs (2005).

The name Böst is a Scanian and southern Småland dialect word for wicked or foul, usually applied to weather; "böst vär" meant terrible weather in 20th-century southern Scanian speech, and it probably derives from German böse. The bronze legs were modelled on the artist's wife Margareta and their daughter Hanna Åberg, a singer and songwriter. Trelleborg municipality uses the fountain as an emblem of the town.

The fountain stands on the pedestrian street at the corner of Algatan and Corfitz Beck-Friisgatan, in the middle of Trelleborg's centre, so it is passed on foot rather than sought out. Water streams over the legs, and between two umbrellas a hand reaches out to test whether the rain will stop. Look for that hand from the side facing the crossing.

The legs were modelled on the sculptor's wife Margareta and their daughter Hanna Åberg, a singer and songwriter. Between two umbrellas a hand reaches out to feel whether the rain is stopping. The name is Scanian dialect for wicked or foul, as in "böst vär", roughly "filthy weather".