3-053-550 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Opening of the new City Water-Works at Vienna, 1873. 'The site chosen for the ceremony was the space in front of the Schwarzenberg Palace, opening from the Ring Strasse, where a fountain had been constructed capable of displaying the immense pressure of the water. On the terrace fronting the palace and facing the fountain was a tent for the reception of the Imperial party. The surrounding gardens were tastefully decorated with flags, and a military band added to the gaiety of the scene...The water of the fountain, which till that moment had been playing to the height of a few feet, was now turned on to its maximum height of 180 ft., considerably surpassing in power the famous fountain of Wilhelms-hohe. The Emperor then addressed a few words to the different gentlemen engaged in this work. His Majesty in particular congratulated the contractor, Mr. Gabrielli, on the energetic and successful way in which he had carried out the works...the town receives its supply [from the Schmelz and Wienerberg reservoirs] through a network of pipes 137 miles in length. The whole design and execution of the works has excited the general admiration of the numerous visitors who have inspected them during the course of construction'. From "Illustrated London News", 1873.