After extensive cleaning and maintenance works that lasted a month and a half, the Municipality of Athens has put the iconic fountain at Syntagma Square back into operation.
The Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, stated:
“The historic fountain at Syntagma Square, a jewel of 1872 made of Pentelic marble, is coming back to life. For the first time in 153 years, we proceeded with a scientific cleaning of the surfaces as well as a complete restoration. The work was carried out with ‘surgical’ precision by specialized personnel. It is a major project, completed with impeccable professionalism and respect for the monument’s history. The landmark fountain in the heart of Athens now shines as it deserves.”
Maintenance Works
The Department of Cultural Heritage had no previous record of scientific maintenance of the fountain. However, beyond the wear of time, vandalism, and environmental impact, there had also been amateur interventions and improper cleanings in the past.
The damages affected both the marble surfaces and the construction itself. There were additions and repairs of marble fragments, older seals and joint fillings, cracks, abrasions, black crusts, biological deposits and salts, graffiti marks, stickers, silicones and other adhesives, carvings, and damage caused by mechanical cleanings.
As a modern monument, it falls under the legal protection regime. Following a request from the Municipality of Athens, the Directorate for the Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments of the Ministry of Culture prepared a conservation study, which was implemented by the Cultural Heritage Department of the Directorate of Urban Planning and Environment of the Municipality of Athens, as part of the “Conservation of Outdoor Sculptures of the Municipality of Athens” program.
Art historian and Head of the Historical Archive of the Municipality of Athens, Zetta Antonopoulou, noted:
“The cleaning took place in two large basins, requiring work on both the interior and exterior side walls. The fountain is made of individual pieces of Pentelic marble, each with specific characteristics and types of damage. Joint repairs included removing old mortars, filling cracks, and stabilizing exfoliations. We restored and protected the cement infrastructure and the internal surfaces of the basins. The entire structure has been coated with an anti-graffiti layer.”
The work was assigned to certified conservator of antiquities and works of art, Vasilis Markakis, with a team of certified conservators and specialized marble craftsmen.
Experts emphasize that maintaining the water filters and periodically preserving the marble surfaces is essential, as damage is caused not only by vandalism but also mainly by environmental conditions and improper interventions that may have immediate effects but are severely harmful in the long term.
One of the greatest challenges was the outer basin, which had been coated with an unknown substance, likely applied without surface preparation, resulting over time in a hard black crust that required patience and special techniques for removal.
A 153-year-old puzzle of a fountain – Historical facts
The Syntagma Square fountain bears the inscription “MUNICIPALITY OF ATHENS 1872” and, according to the literature, is attributed to Ernst Ziller. As a water feature, it has always been a central element of the square but underwent modifications leading to its current form.
Originally, its central section featured a marble flower column with full sculptural decoration (a metal composition with aquatic birds and reeds at the base and a youthful figure with a shell on top). The motif had a distinctly Western character. Later, this central part appears to have been transferred to the identical fountain in Koumoundourou Square (Eleftherias Square), where it survives today without the top figure. It is also possible that there were two identical fountains of the same era, as was often the case with urban furnishings.
Photographic evidence shows that shortly before the mid-20th century, the structure no longer functioned as a fountain but as a small circular flowerbed. There is still the possibility that the current central feature (the inner marble basin) came from the old circular fountain of Kotzia Square, possibly relocated there as part of beautification works by the Municipality of Athens in the 1960s. Later, the fountain is depicted with an added polygonal perimeter, clearly linked to broader works concerning Syntagma Square.
The lower basin of the fountain consists of 27 architectural members, with lengths ranging from 40 cm to 110 cm (most blocks are 100 cm long) and a height of 55 cm. Due to the slope of the ground, the fountain has an overall height of 60 cm from the ground at the upper part of the square and 88 cm at the lower part towards Ermou Street. Inside the large basin is a smaller one made of the same material, consisting of 11 architectural members, also resting on a built base.
