Fountains have been an architectural element in gardens, squares, and city centers throughout history. They decorate and enhance the beauty of the structures, and are a tourist attraction in their own right, making for stunning photographs. Let's take a look at the 10 most expensive fountains in the world!
1. Buckingham Fountain. $750,000
Buckingham Fountain is a major landmark located in Chicago, USA. It opened in 1927, and its construction cost $1,400,000. Moreover, it is one of the largest fountains in the world and inspired the Latona Fountain in Paris. It features a Rococo style (resembling a wedding cake) and pink marble from Georgia. Buckingham Fountain is also famous for its large volume of water and its light shows. Notably, the four seahorse sculptures symbolize the four states surrounding Lake Michigan: Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.
2. Light and music fountain Roshen. $ 1.5 million.
The next fountain on the list of the 10 most expensive fountains is located in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and is also considered the largest fountain in Europe. The Roshen Multimedia Fountain is an impressive project, costing a total of 1.5 million rubles. It opened in 2011, and its light and music water shows, using special effects, lasers, and 3D projectors, create a stunning spectacle on the water. Some of the repertoire includes Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince," Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," and Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons: Summer." Creating fountains of this scale requires challenging geographic conditions, but the bend in the Bug River was ideal for this project. In winter, the fountain is completely submerged.
3. Fountain of wealth. $6 million.
The Fountain of Wealth, besides being one of the most expensive fountains in the world, is also one of the most popular structures of its kind. Located in Singapore, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world, after all. Furthermore, it was estimated that the 1995 construction cost was $6 million. The fountain covers an area of approximately 1,700 square meters and is almost 14 meters high. But the most astonishing thing is that the water jet exceeds 30 meters in height! If you visit Singapore, walk around the fountain three times, touching the water, and fortune will smile upon you.
4. Geneva Fountain. $ 800,000 per year
The Geneva Fountain, one of the tallest fountains in the world, is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Although the cost of its construction is unknown, since it opened in 1891, it is already known that its annual maintenance costs are €800,000. This justifies its inclusion in the list of the 10 most expensive fountains in the world. The Geneva Fountain is a symbol of the city. Five hundred liters of lake water per second shoot 140 meters into the air at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
5. King Fahd's Fountain. $ Price unknown
The King Fahd Fountain is a fountain located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Like the Geneva fountain, the construction cost of this fountain, which opened in 1985, is unknown. However, as the tallest fountain of this style in the world, its annual maintenance costs are believed to be among the highest in the world. The fountain's maximum jet of water, according to various sources, reaches either 260 meters or 312 meters above the Red Sea.
6. Archibald Fountain. $ Price unknown
The next fountain on the list of the top 10 most expensive is the Archibald Fountain, located in Sydney. The construction cost of this structure, which opened in 1932, is unknown, but it is considered the finest public fountain in Australia. Its annual maintenance costs are believed to qualify it as one of the most expensive fountains in the world.
7. Bellagio Fountain. $ 40 million.
The Bellagio Fountain is the best free show in Las Vegas, USA. The masterfully orchestrated lighting and music on the water create a stunning effect. This beauty cost $140 million to build, and since its opening in 1998, it has become a wonderful wedding venue in Las Vegas, making for stunning photos! The show takes place in front of the Bellagio Hotel and features 30 songs. Some of the highlights include "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli, "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood, "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis Presley, "My Heart Will Live On" by Celine Dion, and "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed.
8. The Dubai Fountain. $ 218 million.
The next amazing fountain on this list of the 10 most expensive fountains is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Fountain is one of the city's most important tourist attractions, costing $1,400,000 (£1,218,000,000) to build! It's located on the man-made Burj Khalifa Lake in downtown Dubai. This fountain, the tallest in the world, delights hundreds of visitors daily with a captivating, non-stop dance, music, and light show.
9. The Grand Cascade Fountain in Peterhof. $. Price unknown.
The Grand Cascade Fountain is located at the foot of the central section of the Grand Palace of Peterhof, Russia. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and majestic royal palaces in the world, it dazzles with the opulence and grandeur characteristic of the Russian Empire. The palace's most famous fountain is the Grand Cascade, built with golden sculptures cascading water. The Grand Cascade features three waterfall staircases, two grottoes, 75 fountains, and is decorated with 255 bronze sculptures and 29 bas-reliefs depicting scenes from ancient mythology. The Grand Cascade's décor incorporates a variety of sculptural forms, including statues, bas-reliefs, brackets, mascarons, busts, vases, and herms. Its façade is 42 meters long. Although the cost of the creation is unknown, since the construction of the palace and its gardens was completed in 1721, preliminary estimates indicate that the luxury and tourist character that defines the fountain make it one of the most expensive fountains in the world, and its annual maintenance is also expensive.
10. Rainbow Fountain Bridge. $ 20 billion
The final member of this list of the 10 most expensive fountains in the world is the magnificent Rainbow Fountain Bridge, also known as "Rainbow under the Moonlight." This magnificent fountain, located in Seoul, is the longest bridge-like fountain in the world. It holds a Guinness World Record for its nearly 10,000 LED lights! Furthermore, it's nearly 1,140 meters long, and its pumps pump nearly 190 tons of water per minute directly from the river without stopping. The construction cost was approximately 1,400,000.20 million.