Zsolnay fountain, Decorative water well on Széchenyi tér, Pécs, Hungary

The Zsolnay Fountain stands on Széchenyi tér in Pécs: a four-metre eosin-glazed ceramic well completed in 1912. Its water spouts are shaped as ox heads, modelled on a drinking vessel from the Nagyszentmiklós treasure. An inscription runs along the rim of its basin.

Miklós Zsolnay offered a memorial fountain to Pécs in 1908, and Andor Pilch was commissioned to design it in 1909. It was completed in 1912 at the Zsolnay factory, but disputes over its placement and World War I delayed installation. After 18 years in storage, it was finally erected in 1930 in front of the church of the Merciful Brothers on Széchenyi tér.

The fountain displays traditional Hungarian design and shows the ceramic techniques that made Zsolnay famous across Europe. You can see the craftsmanship in every detail of the animal-head spouts when you walk around it.

The fountain sits in central Pécs and is easy to reach on foot. Water flows from the animal-head spouts, so you can view it from all sides as you walk around.

The fountain's four-metre eosin body is crowned by bull-head water spouts modelled on a drinking vessel from the Nagyszentmiklós treasure. It stands where the Ottoman-era "kádi csorgója" (judge's fountain) once flowed, and its rim carries a dedication to Vilmos Zsolnay wishing eternal witness to Pécs's prosperity and its inhabitants' happiness.