Neptune's Fountain in Prešov is the only preserved original city cistern. Before the construction of the waterworks, ten similar cisterns served as a reservoir of drinking water for the citizens.
Until the time of Joseph II no Jews were allowed to live in Prešov except during the market. He was the first to successfully break this ban in the second half of the 1880s. M. Holländer, a wealthy merchant from Halych. Despite the laws already in force at that time (a special decree of Joseph II allowed Jews to settle in royal towns except for mining towns), the town council and the merchants' guild opposed his presence. Thanks to his good relations with the monarch, he managed to stay in the town, buy a house, a shop and even obtain burgher rights. Out of gratitude, he then had a Neptune fountain built in one of the cisterns.
By sculpture of Neptune with a trident, surrounded by sea animals, is a Košice stonemason and sculptor Vincent Staviarsky (1784 - 1847), who completed the sculpture in 1826. It was restored in the early 1990s.
Source: Švorc, P.: Guide to Historical Prešov. Universum. 2006. Prešov. ISBN 80-89046-35-5
Cover photo: www.gopresov.sk
