The Oortwolk fountain in Franeker (11fountains)

The Oort fountain in Franeker

The fountain is an ode to the world-famous Franeker-born astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort. His assumption that a "cloud" of billions of comet-like objects is moving around our solar system marked a breakthrough in astronomy. The fountain is designed as a series of waterfalls flowing from a bowl along a vertical chain of night-colored pearls into the basin. One of the pearls is silver, like the color of the moon; another is gilded, the color of the sun. "The Ear Cloud" itself is a mist of fine droplets falling into the bowl from a gold mesh.

Artist: Jean-Michel Othoniel

Year built: 2018