Fountain in Glavni Trg, Novo mesto

The fountain and the poet

The marble fountain in the upper part of Novo Mesto’s main square Glavni Trg is also known as the Kette Fountain, not only because the poet Dragotin Kette (1876–1899) was infatuated with a beautiful young woman who lived nearby, but also because some lines from Kette’s poem On the Square, written in 1897, are carved into the edge of the lower basin of the fountain. Designed by the architect Marjan Mušič (1904–1984), the fountain was erected in 1955. It consists of a lower polygonal basin and a smaller circular upper basin. The two basins are connected by a pillar. In 1992 the fountain was proclaimed a cultural monument of local importance. An earlier cast-iron fountain actually stood on this site until 1903. This was one of very many functional and decorative products manufactured by the iron foundry at Dvor near Žužemberk on the river Krka. The foundry began making cast-iron products in 1820 and continued to operate until its closure in 1896.

Janez Bogataj