Swiss Sketches - The Fountain Mile in Bern

Every living thing, plants included, needs to be watered, and running water (as in "supplied to houses") hadn't been available to prehistoric humans - so, wells had to be relied upon almost since the dawn of human civilization. While helping to meet one's most basic need, wells essentially remained just water-filled holes in the ground - good enough for about 5,5 millennia but after that, humans began to strive for something more aesthetically pleasing. Eventually, they came up with the concept of "fountain". More dynamic and nicely shaped, fountains were a significantly better sight for sore eyes. They helped water-seekers to relax - and inspired them to stay longer than would be necessary to fill and secure water containers. People socialized and bonded, found and developed common interests, and occasionally struck friendships. Centuries later, Abraham Maslow would create a multilevel pyramid known as "Hierarchy of Needs", and place "Friendship" at level 3 of that pyramid, alongside "Family" and "Love". That achieved, the way up would lead to "Recognition" and "Self-Fulfillment" - quite often, either or both imply creativity.

One might presume that the older a town, the more medieval-style fountains it has. At the age of 834, the city of Bern in Switzerland corroborates that supposition - so much so that it's actually nicknamed "The City of Fountains". As if trying to contribute to Maslow's future endeavors, the Bernese upped the game by adding quality to quantity and turning some of their fountains into full-fledged works of art. As a bonus, they tinged art with symbolism and mixed it with history. The result? Ten distinct statues perched on fountains and lined up along a thoroughfare in the Old Town, the distance between the end statues being exactly a mile. The statues depict Biblical characters (such as Moses and Samson), prominent citizens (including the founder of Bern), representatives of professional guilds, and symbols of moral values, such as Justice. There is also a proverbial cat thrown among the pigeons - a statue of a Child Eater! Its meaning and origins are debatable, and they range from something as innocuous as folklore to some of much darker interpretations. Juxtaposed with "normal" statues, the outlier might indicate the town's cheeky collective sense of humour.