Just Add Water (8 Photos)

October 15, 2026

By Vidar

These fountains let water do the work

A tap hangs in midair, a bronze man carries an umbrella made of water, and a sailboat gets its sails from falling streams. Elsewhere, a hillside grows a face and water becomes a glowing tunnel. These eight fountains make the flow part of the artwork.

More: Strange Finds (8 Photos)

🚰 Floating Tap — El Puerto de Santa María, Spain 🇪🇸

A giant tap appears to float above its pool in El Puerto de Santa María. The falling water conceals the pipe that supports it and supplies the flow.

📷 Photo by Emilio J. Rodríguez Posada / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

🌿 “The Giant” — By André Heller in Wattens, Austria 🇦🇹

A waterfall pours from the mouth of a face built into a green hillside. André Heller created the Giant in 1995 for Swarovski’s centenary; it marks the entrance to the Chambers of Wonder at Swarovski Kristallwelten.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe GiantAndré Heller · 1995 · WattensWattensOpened 1995Water installation1André Heller created the Giant for Swarovski’s 1995 centenary.Swarovski2The entrance head is 17 metres high.André Heller1995Opened for Swarovski’s centenary20152 MayThe Giant entrance photographed by Marek Śliwecki (camera date).Read the full file →

📷 Photo by Marek Śliwecki / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

🌼 El Alamein Fountain — By Robert Woodward in Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺

A giant dandelion seems to have taken root in Kings Cross. Robert Woodward’s El Alamein Fountain, opened in 1961 in Fitzroy Gardens, uses sprays at the ends of 211 stalks to form its watery sphere.

💡 History Fact: The fountain is a war memorial to the Australian Imperial Forces 9th Division and the Battle of El Alamein in northern Egypt. Woodward, himself a World War II army veteran, won a fountain design competition held by the City of Sydney in 1959 with it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsEl Alamein FountainRobert Woodward · 1961 · SydneyFitzroy GardensWar memorial1It commemorates the Ninth Division of the Australian Imperial Forces in World War II.NSW War Memorials Register2The fountain is on the NSW State Heritage Register, listed in January 2011.NSW State Heritage Register196118 NovThe fountain is opened (City of Sydney; plaque date).201114 JanListed on the NSW State Heritage Register.2012AugRefurbishment completed, according to the heritage register.Read the full file →

📷 Photo by Angus Fraser / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

☔ “Rain” — By Jean-Michel Folon in Lausanne, Switzerland 🇨🇭

The umbrella is made of the very thing it is supposed to keep out. In Jean-Michel Folon’s 1996 sculpture Rain, water spreads above a bronze man outside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsPluie (Rain)Jean-Michel Folon · 1996 · LausanneBronze, 172 kgOlympic Museum1The museum's record titles it “Rain. Man under a waterfall umbrella”, a sculpture fountain.Olympic Museum2Statues Quo places it in front of the museum entrance at 1 Quai d'Ouchy.Statues Quo2016Photograph by Guy Delsaut, dated 2016, shown by Statues Quo.Read the full file →

📷 Photo by Guy Delsaut / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

🌀 “Charybdis” — By William Pye in Seaham, UK 🇬🇧

This close-up looks into a spinning column of water. William Pye’s Charybdis, completed in 2000, creates an air-core vortex inside a clear acrylic cylinder at Seaham Hall, where steps let visitors look down from above.

💡 Nerd Fact: When it was completed, Charybdis was William Pye’s largest air-core vortex sculpture. It was only the second time he used the clear acrylic he had first tried in Clearwater Cube.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCharybdisWilliam Pye · 2000 · SeahamAcrylic cylinderSeaham Hall1Water circling inside a transparent acrylic cylinder forms an air-core vortex in the centre.William Pye2Signs at the hotel gates say access is for guests and members only, according to Atlas Obscura.Atlas Obscura201012 FebDated Geograph photograph by Andrew Curtis.Read the full file →

📷 Photo by Andrew Curtis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

✨ Tunnel of Surprises — Lima, Peru 🇵🇪

Glowing jets curve overhead to make a roof you can walk beneath. The Tunnel of Surprises stretches 35 meters through Lima’s Magic Water Circuit.

💡 Place Fact: The fountains stand in the Parque de la Reserva, a park opened in 1929 and named for the reservists who defended Lima during the War of the Pacific in 1881. The water circuit itself was inaugurated on July 26, 2007.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTunnel of SurprisesCircuito Mágico del Agua · 2007 (circuit opening) · Lima, Peru35 m water tunnelParque de la ReservaCircuit opened 20071The official site describes a walk-through water tunnel 35 metres long.Circuito Mágico del Agua2El Espectador says the circuit set a 2007 Guinness record as the world's largest fountain complex in a public park.El Espectador201228 MarMcKay Savage photographs the red-lit water tunnel (Flickr, camera date 28 Mar 2012).20121 JulHowToPeru guide publishes a photo captioned Túnel de las Sorpresas (publication date; page updated 2026).201816 JulEl Espectador travel report describes the 35 m water tunnel.202416 NovAndina report on the circuit during APEC 2024 describes visitors walking under the water arches ('Túnel de Agua').202626 OctOfficial site lists Fuente Túnel de las Sorpresas as a current attraction (checked 26 Oct 2026).Read the full file →

📷 Photo by McKay Savage / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Cover: cropped photos by Emilio J. Rodríguez Posada (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Marek Śliwecki (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cover arrangement: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The floating tap, the water umbrella, or the tunnel you can walk through? Tell us in the comments.

⛵ Water Boat Fountain — Valencia, Spain 🇪🇸

Streams of water fill the open frame of a sailboat, turning its sails and hull into shimmering sheets. The Water Boat Fountain stands on Valencia’s seafront promenade, the Passeig Marítim.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsWater Boat FountainValencia, SpainPasseig Marítim, ValenciaWater forms the sailsRestored 20181Levante-EMV reported in July 2018 that the fountain was working again after five years out of service.Levante-EMV2A 2008 Flickr photo, now on Wikimedia Commons, shows it running on the Passeig Marítim.Wikimedia Commons200830 SepPhoto by Juan Andres Martinez showing the fountain running. Camera date.201322 MayLaughing Squid feature on the 'Fuente del Barco de Agua'.201818 JulLevante-EMV reports the fountain working again after five years out of service.20209 JanLocal history blog post with the author's photos (publication date).Read the full file →

📷 Photo by Juan Andres Martinez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

⚙️ Tinguely Fountain — By Jean Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇭

Wheels, pipes, and moving metal figures turn this pool into a performance. Opened in 1977, Jean Tinguely’s fountain occupies the site of Basel’s former theater stage, now Theaterplatz.

💡 History Fact: The fountain was a gift to the city from the Migros cooperative of Basel to mark the cooperative’s 50th anniversary. Tinguely designed and built all ten figures himself, arranging them like actors or dancers on a stage.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTinguely Fountain (Fasnachtsbrunnen)Jean Tinguely · 1977 · BaselTheaterplatzTen moving figures1According to Basel Tourism, the pool sits on the site of the old city theatre's stage, demolished in 1975.Basel Tourism2ArtAtSite reports ten motor-driven objects made of scrap iron.ArtAtSite202523 SepEuropean Traveler's guide, updated 23 Sep 2025, still lists the fountain on Theaterplatz (a page update, not a photo date).Read the full file →