Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop To Drink

OLOMOUC is well-known, within the Czech Republic, for being dotted with fountains, most of them kept because of initial misgivings about new-fangled piped water.

The Arion fountain in Upper Square (Horní Náměstí) is modern, having been erected in 2002

But the Neptune Fountain in Lower Square (Dolní Náměstí) dates from 1683, with a Marian plague column behind it and, behind that, another fountain, this time featuring Jupiter

None of the fountains is used for drinking-water today, which is perhaps not surprising, but what is odd, at least at first sight, is that Lower Square is on higher ground than Upper Square. The explanation is that Lower and Upper referred, not to height, but to social class.