Many of Lviv’s old buildings had communal sinks located in courtyards, hallways, or on galleries. No longer a water source for the residents of these buildings, most of the sinks have been removed and today are popular antiques. Only a handful remain in their original locations, especially the decorative ones […]

The first water supply system in Lviv was built in 1407. The ​​German Peter Schtecher was responsible for drafting the plans for the construction of cisterns and water pipes. As information about the work associated with the laying of water pipes was strictly classified, no documents with the precise locations […]

In 2013 when one Lviv’s main thoroughfares, Horodotska Street, was being renovated, the construction workers found wooden water pipes that dated from the early years of the Austrian Empire, making them well over 150 years old. These pipes were made by taking wood logs, digging out the core, and placing inside […]

Wells and fountains were both a practical and aesthetic part of Lviv’s landscape. Records and photographs reveal that there were indeed many of them all around the city, especially near churches and monasteries. In time, with the advent of new infrastructures, these once vital water access points became obsolete, and […]

In Prague I come across one antique sink, which was still in it’s original location, though it is no longer used for its original function. Now instead of water, the sink holds a candle. The sink is located in a tiny courtyard of an old building, which today houses a […]

The village of Winnetka, a suburb of Chicago, incorporated in 1869, has still a few remnants from its earliest years found in the infrastucuture and architecture.  In particular, in the yards of some of the oldest houses that date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuies one can find […]

Antique sinks still in their original locations seem come to hard by, be it in Lviv, Prague, Vienna, or other Habsburg cities that I’ve visited. But in Vienna I did find a couple. On the other hand, I’ve come across quite a few water pumps in these cities. Here is […]

The companies that installed plumbing and sewers in Lviv attached plates on houses where such services were provided. A few of these plates, which state that the water pipes were installed in this building by such and such company, can still be found in Lviv, though, as usual, some of […]

Starting in 1676, water from several springs near Edinburgh was piped into a reservoir at Castle Hill, from where it was conveyed to a total of 14 cisterns on High Street and the nearby area. In about 1820 these public wells went out of use with the introduction of additional […]