Fountains

Oudenaarde has three unique fountains. 

The Royal Fountain in front of the town hall was built in 1676 under the reign of Louis XIV. The fountain was connected with the sources of the Edelareberg by a system of water mains and was the first public facility in town.

Surrounded by trees, at the Gentiel Antheunisplein, stands a 19th-century Lionfountain, rebuilt in 2001. The construction consists of a bluestone block, decorated with lion’s heads and a wrought-iron sprayer. It is crowned by a bluestone Dutch lion, formerly holding a blazon in its claws bearing the letter W (after King William I). After the Belgian Revolution, the blazon was replaced by the year 1831 and the A of Aldenarda/Audenaerde. Thus the fountain became the symbol of the Belgian Independence.

Along the river Scheldt, on the quay Louise-Marie, a remarkable cascade fountain was built in 1852, in honour of the Belgian queen Louise-Marie. It is a copy of the famous cascade fountain on the Place de la Concorde in Paris and was designed by Charles van der Straeten.