The Donnerbrunnen is a Baroque fountain in central Vienna, situated on the centre of the Neuer Markt square. It was built in 1739 upon order of the city of Vienna.
It was created by the famous sculptor Georg Raphael Donner who created the models for the casts, and Johann Nikolaus Moll who created the figures.
The fountain depicts Providentia, the symbol of good government. The four figures that surround Providentia represent the four main rivers of the Austrian heartlands: the two male ones those of Upper Austria, the two female ones those of Lower Austria: the Enns, Traun, Ybbs and March.
Enns is an old ferryman, resting against a rock - thereby underlining the importance of the river Enns as a traffic line from the Alps.
Traun is a young man with a trident, catching a fish at the base of the fountain.
Ybbs is a resting girl with a jug.
March is a woman resting against a relief depicting a battle - showing the important role that the March played as a natural border.
The fountain became internationally famous in 1995, when it featured as a Baroque fountain in the Generation-X movie "Before Sunrise" with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
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