Fons Sapientiae, Bronze fountain on Rector De Somerplein, Leuven, Belgium

Fons Sapientiae is a bronze fountain on Rector De Somerplein in Leuven, made by Jef Claerhout in 1975. A standing male figure with a blocky head and raised arms holds an open book in his left hand, one foot resting on a higher step of a tall, rough-hewn pedestal. Two thin streams of water fall from a pointed finial on the pedestal's front, below a plaque reading "FONS SAPIENTIAE".

The fountain was created in 1975 by sculptor Jef Claerhout to mark the 550th anniversary of KU Leuven. It was made during a period when the university was celebrating its long academic tradition.

Students regularly dress the sculpture in different costumes throughout the academic year, turning it into a focal point of university traditions. This practice shows how the fountain has become a space where the university community expresses its humor and shared identity.

The fountain sits in the heart of Leuven and is easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the city center. It stands on an open square with good visibility from all sides, making it straightforward to observe and photograph.

In late 1979, after the French-speaking section of the university moved to Louvain-la-Neuve, French-speaking students took the statue and cemented it on the Place des Wallons there. In 2018 a delegation from Leuven gave a statuette of Fonske to Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve in memory of the incident. The statue was also removed from the square for renovation from 2010 to 2012.