The St. Mary's Pump at the Mariaplaats in Utrecht. The pump has two spouts in the shape of a lion's head, a crank and a streetlamp. The St. Mary's pump was installed in 1844 because of the good water quality. During the cholera epidemic of the seventies of the 19th century this pump was famous for its pure water. The water was known to be the purest in the Netherlands and wealthy citizens of Amsterdam brought their drinking water here by ship. Breweries also loved this Utrecht water.
Because of the construction of the waterworks, the pump was dismantled in 1931, but reinstalled in 1975. There is now a bracket to block the crank. So pumping is not possible, but when you move the crank, tap water comes out of the two spouts. This means that the pump is simply connected to the water mains.
This picture belongs to the series Modern History and is therefore in black and white.
Hi there! Nice seeing you here! I'm Jan vd Knaap, a photographer in Utrecht. I normally deal with portrait photography, for humans and animals, and I give workshops to get the most out of the camera. But in the meantime, I fill my account here.. Read more…