Triton Fountain in Nysa

The Romans inscribed S.P.Q.R. – "the Senate and People of Rome" – on their buildings. In 1701 the burghers of Nysa carved S.P.Q.N., "the Senate and People of Nysa", on their fountain, and there is hardly better proof that the town known as the "Silesian Rome" took its nickname seriously. The Triton Fountain in Nysa is a Baroque composition from 1700–1701, modelled on Bernini's famous fountain in Rome but carved in its own way – from local marble quarried at Sławniowice.

History: a symbol of a prosperous bishops' town

Around 1700, Nysa had for centuries been the seat of the prince-bishops of Wrocław and was one of the wealthiest towns in Silesia. According to the town's tourist information office, the fountain was meant to symbolise the prosperity and peace the town then enjoyed. The sculptor is unknown. The composition draws on Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Triton Fountain in Rome's Piazza Barberini but is not a copy: the Nysa Triton kneels high on a shell, and the whole ensemble sits in a square basin with rounded corners. The fountain is regarded as one of the town's most valuable monuments and best explains its old motto.

What to see

• Triton – half man, half fish from Greek and Roman mythology – kneels on a shell-shaped bowl with arms raised, blowing a conch; a Baroque symbol of peace and harmony.
• Four dolphins with open mouths, carved on the shaft and facing the four points of the compass.
• Nysa's coat of arms with the inscription SPQN 1701 – on the south side, high on the shaft. The date marks the year the fountain was completed.
• A smaller octagonal basin, linked to the main one by a passage with two relief dolphins and a brass gargoyle, also shaped like a dolphin.
• The balustrade with a sarcophagus-shaped frame around the large basin.

Interesting facts

S.P.Q.N. stands for Senatus Populusque Nissiensis – a deliberate play on Rome's S.P.Q.R. Nysa earned the name "Silesian Rome" thanks to its many churches and the bishops' residence, and this fountain, with its Roman model and Roman-style inscription, is the most literal expression of it.

Tripto tip

The fountain stands in a public space where the Market Square (Rynek) meets Bracka and Celna streets – you can see it free of charge, at any time. Walk all the way round: the coat of arms and inscription face south, and the dolphins look different from every side. Allow 10–15 minutes; the water may be switched off in winter. The Tourist Information Point (Mon–Sat 8:00–16:00, tel. +48 602 654 128) has maps of the Town Tourist Trail. Within a few hundred metres are the Basilica of St James and St Agnes with its free-standing bell tower, the Beautiful Well with a wrought-iron grille from 1686, and the District Museum in the former Bishops' Palace, while a longer walk leads to the forts of Nysa Fortress. Nysa is about 55 km from Opole and 90 km from Wrocław, and the centre is within walking distance of the railway station.