The fountain was created on the site of the former entrance to an underground car park during the architectural and urban redevelopment of the Hotel Carlton forecourt between 2007 and 2008. As part of the project, the artist also proposed colour light and water effects and a clock face closely related to the fountain’s design, but ultimately these features did not function. 

Extensive restoration and adaptation of the work took place in 2017, with ceremonial launching on May 1. It was unofficially named the Old Town Water Astronomical Clock, as it announced the passing of one hour to the next with sound, light, and water effects – first "striking" the number of hours, then spurting water from that same number of jets, and finally playing music. 

The fountain is relatively low with a circular base. The water basin is framed by a twelve-piece ring-shaped slab of polished stone that rests upon a narrower pedestal with sheet metal cladding. The basin features several water jets and light sources. Lights are also embedded into the stone slab, where they progressively increase around the circle from one light to twelve, directly related to their function of announcing the time. 

The twelve segments of the disc incorporate eleven inscriptions, each in Slovak and English. One of the inscriptions provides information about the fountain: 

"The Carlton Fountain is built on a site that played a significant role in Slovak history. Its appearance is a metaphor for the passage of time. The fountain represents a clock face, with twelve o'clock pointing north. Each hour displays a historical event that took place on Hviezdoslav Square in front of the Carlton Hotel. The fountain's choreography offers viewers a spectacular experience of thousands of litres of water sprayed into the air accompanied 

by hundreds of lights.” 

Other inscriptions briefly describe the hotel's recent history, its famous guests, its last renovation, the Candlelight Demonstration and Velvet Revolution, the model of a bee on its façade, its renovation between 1929 and 1931, its early 20th-century alterations, the origin of the name Carlton, the first film screening and first cinema in Pressburg, which are associated with the location, and predecessors of the current hotel and the To the Green Trees inn that previously stood in the area.

PB

Research status as of 04. 06. 2023.