The Cast Iron Termen Fountain

A Historical Heritage of Kyiv

In 2011, DION ART completed the restoration of the cast iron Termen Fountain in Mariinsky Park, Kyiv. This fountain is not just an element of the city’s landscape but a symbol of an era, deeply connected to the history of water supply, engineering, and 19th-century artistic aesthetics.

The Termen Fountain: A Journey Through Time

The Termen Fountains are a series of cast iron fountains created in the late 19th century at the cast iron foundry of Alexei Termen, designed by the Kyiv architect Alexander Schille.
The first fountain was installed in 1871 on Tsarskaya (European) Square, and later, in 1899–1901, six more identical fountains were produced, adorning different parts of Kyiv.
At that time, these fountains served not only a decorative purpose but also provided water for the city’s residents, carriage drivers, and their horses.

Termen’s Role in Kyiv’s History

Alexei Termen was an entrepreneur and engineer who played a significant role in Kyiv’s development. His machine-building plant manufactured industrial equipment and became a key supplier of pipes for the city’s water supply system.
Under a municipal contract, his factory was required not only to lay water pipelines but also to install several cast iron fountains across Kyiv.

The Surviving Termen Fountains in Kyiv

Today, four original Termen fountains remain in Kyiv:

• Mariinsky Park,

• City Garden,

• Near the Golden Gate,

• Near the Ivan Franko Theater.

Some fountains were lost, while the one from Sofiyska Square was relocated to Oles Honchar Square.

Architectural Features of the Termen Fountain

• A cast iron structure in the shape of a massive bowl on a sturdy base.

• Decorated with antique lion masks, from whose mouths water flows.

• Initially, the fountains featured gilded inscriptions, later replaced with plaques displaying the manufacturing date and factory name.

• According to legend, one of the Termen factory workers was immortalized in the fountain’s decorations—instead of traditional lion heads, the workers sculpted his face as a humorous gesture.

Restoration of the Fountain in Mariinsky Park

In 2011, DION ART carried out a complete engineering restoration of the fountain, restoring its operation and implementing modern technologies to ensure its uninterrupted performance. Today, the fountain once again delights Kyiv residents and visitors, standing as a unique monument of 19th-century engineering and artistic craftsmanship.

This fountain is a living heritage of Kyiv, bridging the past and present, art and engineering, tradition and modern technology.