Caritas Well, Renaissance fountain in Gammeltorv, Denmark.
Caritas Well is a fountain monument on Gammeltorv square in Copenhagen, made of bronze figures set on a stone column above a copper basin. Water flows from several points on the sculpture and falls into the basin at the base.
King Christian IV ordered the fountain in 1608 and had water brought in through a pipe system from Lake Emdrup, which was a new kind of infrastructure for the city at the time. The original figures were later replaced by copies after years of wear.
The name Caritas comes from the Latin word for charity, and the central figure of a mother with children makes that meaning easy to read. Today the fountain is a natural gathering point on the square, where people stop, sit nearby, and watch the water.
The fountain stands in the middle of Gammeltorv, close to the Strøget pedestrian street, and is easy to reach on foot. It is open on all sides, so you can walk around it and see it from any angle without any restriction.
On the birthdays of the Danish royal family, gilded copper balls are placed in the basin and made to dance by the water pressure, a tradition that goes back to the 18th century. It is one of the few fountain rituals of this kind still practiced in Europe today.
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