Scattered about the old town are a number of ancient public fountains. Installed in the 16th century, the fountains were topped with statues of ideas or biblical scenes such as Samson killing a lion.
Others still sport statues praising the power of Bern, such as the Zähringerbrunnen (a bear in full armor) and the Läuferbrunnen (the Runner Fountain).
These fountains replaced wooden ones at a time when the city was rapidly gaining wealth. There are 100 fountains.
