I can't wait for the tongue-in-cheek title of this to get taken completely out of context by people who don't read the context before reacting. I mean, literally, I can't wait, it'll already be happening as you read this.
Fun Fact: It was common for Roman nobles to financially ruin themselves under extreme social pressure from city officials, other nobles, and the mob to construct massive public works similar to these. This is why roman cities, and especially Rome itself, were often filled with opulent public spaces. It is also why many of the greatest roman constructs were funded directly by the emperor: he was almost always the wealthiest "noble."
@@jokig because the collape of rome is what we want for modern society. you leftist freaks are half getting your way, and half supporting the very worst of conglomerates because they pretend to hoist rainbow flags. congrats you played yourself
It is also out of necessity. The water takes so much air with it that it might damage the pipes and valves so you have to get rid of it. So why not use it to make some music!
It may just be me, but I love public gardens like these that bring tourists and locals out into the outdoors. It's a great way to protect nature while also showcasing art, I hope projects like this will continue existing for years to come.
And they do help people- vanity projects might not be the best use of money, but large scale public works benefit everyone, not just the person who built them, and they can easily be made to confer that benefit over centuries, if not longer (honestly at by this point, few people would consider the Great Pyramid an overly extravagant headstone and waste of effort)
Well it doesn't really protect nature, since all the "nature" you see is artificial. But in general it is good to bring people outside and if done correctly it can be new space for nature to settle, just don't use existing ecosystems, that would be destroyed in the process of building such gardens.
I'm on his side. Why waste money on a Yaht when you could build something for everyone to enjoy. I wish rich people built castles and palaces, too, honestly. Instead of these bland modern mansions. Come on, rich people. You've got money. Amaze me. Make something that will last centuries.
You're right. But let's not be too kind to the uber-rich of the the 1700s. They didn't create this for everyone, they created it to impress the other uber rich, just like the Super-Yacht people do today. The only reason we still have this stuff today is eventually those families moved on, lost power, and maybe even the grounds fell into disrepair. Then eventually it was sold/donated to the government, who likely had to restore it. That's when us plebes finally got to enjoy what richie-rich created for himself 300 years ago. But you're right.... that ain't gonna happen with a Yacht build by a Russian oligarch, or Jeff Bezos. Those Yachts migt not be around in even 30 years, and zero chance of making it to 300.
Yes! And back in the late 1700's through to the mid to late 1800speople could tour the castles for for free when the family weren't there. So they really were open to the public. Od course the poorest didn't have the means to travel to see them, but everyone else could.
I think back in time rich people would make something that last a long time to mark history and make sure no one forget about them once they die (the real death) whereas nowadays people just wanna show off and live in the moment, just a theory of course
@@yawl923 That's more a difference between old money and new money. New money does exactly what you're saying with showing off, and blowing huge amounts of money on dumb stuff like hundred million dollar yachts. Old money tends to keep old things and maintain them.
mean more green spaces are always a benefit to the planet, but it also needs to be done ecological and as a boon to the area instead of causing more issues with the local biosphere
Thank you my dude. This video was the last, and most vital clue to a mystery that I've been trying to solve for the greater part of my life. For over 30 years i have searched for evidence of this place, or at the very least, something extremely similar. I had only the fuzziest of memories to go off of. Memories of a brief segment featured in between shows i watched as a child. So thank you so much. I can finally prove after 3 decades that i wasn't crazy (at least about this) and that this place and others like it actually exist.
@@Zaire82 well it does matter cuz modern tech physically cant last longer than tech from 300 yrs ago as that tech was created 300 yrs ago and modern tech is in the last 10-20 yrs modern tech might be able to last 300 yrs but we dunno as its 20 yrs old
@@ioh4425 We do know. Architects design buildings with short lifespans intentionally. They also publish these lifespans for anyone to see and the buildings get demolished once they run out, otherwise they will become structurally unsound and put lives at risk. This is due to modern techniques using mostly concrete. It's cheap and water resistant, but it doesn't last long. Even reinforced concrete needs to be replaced eventually. Pipework in particular gets replaced quite frequently. That's why you can't go a month without coming across roadworks replacing them. Modern techniques are _made_ to be replaced unlike old technology that's made to last indefinitely.
Before the industrial age, the water features at the Palace of Versailles had so little pressure available that technicians had to individually switch features on and off depending on where the people where promenading to and which features were in their eyesight.
The Schloss Schwetzingen in germany had enough water pressure to power all their fountains and water features. They still brag about that to every Tourist.
As a german, I can't fathom the fact that I just found out about this amazing place - and how 😀 Thanks Tom! You just set the destination for my next trip!
Sience and architecture wise Germany is such an interesting country. i wasnt aware of that as a German. It also makes me very proud as a fellow German to see him being so interested in our country :)
My manager: “Sir you have enough money to donate to-“ Me: “We building a fountain” Manager: “But what about the-“ Me: “The horns? We will have those too”
Recipe for ultimate stonks: 1) Do not donate what you have to charity. 2) Use the money to build massive fountains and water games. 3) Have people pay a small (I do mean small) fee to see the water games. 4) Earn more money than you spent. 5) You may now donate to charity. STONKS!
@@jamescollins6085 Non profits use 95% for administrative salaries. Charities are just a way for the rich to get richer. The pelosi family runs the homeless charities in san francisco. They spend 42k per homeless person in the city. 95% of that is paid to her family and friends, 5% makes it to the homeless.
Never heard of this place and looked it up because of this video... and this is about 1-2 hours by train from where I live. I'm definitely going to visit this month. Thanks!
And now imagine encountering this in the post apocalypse, accidentally setting off that lever trying to find drinkable water, and shitting yourself as you summon every zombie and cannibal cult for five miles.
@@hellothere9167 that's a problem I have with a lot of places - particularly modern architecture, where I live your house is brick red, white or grey. Future is looking real bright guys
they've been a source of legionella outbreaks because the water that was stagnant in the pipes is distributed in a fine breathable mist over onlookers...
If you consider visiting the city of Kassel to have a look yourself on these Wasserspiele in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, be aware, that this summer there is also the documenta in Kassel, which is one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art and takes place only every five years.
Ive always been obsessed with fountains and water-features. They've always had a place in my heart, just watching the water flow down from the top. This entire park is a estimate to how easily entertained humans can be and I appreciate that.
The artistic work here isn’t actually worthless in terms of helping humanity. Sure there are many things that could be more helpful, but turning things like this into public parks and centres could very easily improve the quality of life of people who live in or visit the area by adding a little bit of extra wonder and beauty, and can definitely improve mental health and well-being
also tourism costs and the fact that the work making it was all paid labour. All money spent in any capacity is money recirculated, irrelevant of how it is spent. The only time money unfairly flows one way is for high profit margin products like Apple devices. I mean, they sold a pair of wheels for 600 freedom eagles, meanwhile Xiaomi takes a sub 20 dollar profit margin per phone. Economics is mostly a game of information asymmetry when it comes to people making lots of money, consumers don't weigh all the options equally, so they buy more expensive things that have a higher profit margin, that profit margin reaches the CEO's pocket. Even things like investments are going to other companies and paying for salaries, upgrading the tech for the people who work there, etc.
It also has the effect of infusing all the nearby properties with value, because who doesn't want to live within walking/biking distance of the cool gravity fountain?
Hey i am from the city this video is in and you can actually see the statue from almost every part in our city and it is a symbol of it as well. it definitly makes our city interresting but we have a lot of other interresting art and are a city of 200k pople
Also, people got paid for building all this! People were paid for the pipes and mechanisms and others are still paid to mainting everything. It won't help people in poorer regions of the world, but at least it's going back into the economy instead of being hoarded up by a dragon
Just for you Tom... when I'm incredibly rich, I'm going to build a randomly-activated water/fire fountain surrounded by 2D modernistic illusion arts inside a discontinued nuclear power plant surrounded by giant mechanical animals. And I'll rent it out to TV show directors from time to time and allow them to film epic title sequences there.
That'll have to compete with my project once I build a zero-gravity indoor waterpark containing a diving gondola that runs sideways and a poison garden covered in tires that you can hit with a hammer, located inside a tiny skyscraper surrounded by a chainmail box, that can be accessed by riding a couch down a musical road that's beneath an active gun range, on a national border.
I visited Bergpark about 15 or so years ago and loved it, but since I don't speak german and my friends that took me didn't know or explain how it worked this video has made me realize it was even more amazing than I thought. Thanks Tom!
you can get an english speaking guided tour there nowadays! The most interesting fact for me was, that they hid the openings to the pipes during WW2. Because the nazis would have taken all the steel piping for manufacturing weapons.
I'm not sure what surprised me more: the fact that people made this, or the fact that people made this 300 years ago. Excellent video as always, Tom! I'm excited for whatever you have planned next.
Do not take previous generations as incompetent. People made Egyptian pyramids thousands of years ago. Just because technology and knowledge is lost doesn't mean they didn't exist. So the more surprising thing really is that it *lasted* so long and functioning, not that it was made
Research the Old World internet friend You’ll be surprised Start with the The World Fair 1800-1900 Structures that couldn’t be made today made by people in carriages (?)
Projects like that sure are vanity, but they can have enormously positive effects - not only because of their beautify for the general public but also because they can become tourist attractions which centuries later are visited by a RUclipsr from the UK with millions of subscribers :' ) So, rich people, please take some inspiration!
It would have been nice to see more behind the scenes stuff here, like how it's all piped and filled and how high up the tank is to create the pressures and whatnot.
That is explained in the video. It is filled during winter and spring, by snow and rain. Once the water has reached the bottom it is not pumped back up.
Actually there isn't so much to see. I live about 100 meters away from the Bergpark where this is located. The Reservoir in the Videos is one of the few parts of the "inner working" Parts that anyone can see. Most of pipes are just buried and the valves are in simple holes in the ground. And because of the the planers wanted to make it seem like the Park is even bigger than it is, there are only a few sightlines an getting a feel for the scale of everything is even in person hard. In a museum are some Diagrams and maps, but even with those and growing up here it is really hard to wrap your head around what is where in relation to each other. As far as pressure build up ist concerned well the Reservoir for the fountain is about 60m higher than the "Fontänenteich"( The Fountain lake) hidden in the forest about 1 Km up the hill.
If I'm not mistaken, the grand fountains of the Peterhof palace in St. Petersburg work similarly, they're also gravity-powered miracles of fountain-technology. However, the horns on the Water-Games fountain are really something :0
Gonna make a road trip this weekend to visit Peterhoff. The fountains there are powered all season long since the water is gravity fed from a lake high above the park. So they don't need reservoirs.
No your right, the money spent on projects like these back in the day went to local smiths, architects, masons, and landscapers. They were built to show of the engineering of the time, and for that purpose were built for the public. A Modern oversized private yacht sees all that money going to like one of 3 major luxury corporations that likely pay their workers a pittance. Disneyland brings tourism, a megamansion is a ridiculous exclusive theme park that will will only have like 5 people or less in it 90% of the time.
@Anel Zukić It ain't just the rich who feel disconnected from their communities, and especially their place of birth.. there's very valid reasons to I'd say.
I really wish that someone somewhere in the world rich enough to do this is going to see this video and actually decide to take you up on that and build one, and maybe even invite you to the opening. If that ever happens, please make a video about it.
Send it to Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, so that that instead of throwing away their money by travelling into space, they build something nice like this. ;)
yahoo thats my home city right there since my childhood i was always amazed by the Wasserspiele, but not only was it something amazing back then, learning and understanding more and more of it and realizing the scale of it amazes me again and again. So cool to have the one and only Tom Scott showing this to the world! Thank you for visiting :)
Love to see some Kassel represantation. It's a pity you didn't talk about the "beleuchtete Wasserspiele" ("lighted watergames"). Regularily, at night, the different parts of the Wasserspiele are lighted in different colours and it almost feels magical walking around at night along a stream of glowing water.
"Spiel" can both mean "game" and "play", in this case "play" would be the correct translation because the water gives something like a theater play for the visitors. The translation "games" would not make any sense here.
I agree on that but personally I never thought about "play". I always thought the -spiele in "Wasserspiele" comes from "Spielerei" which translates to gimmick/ shenanigans/ gadget.
So cool seeing my hometown featured. Never thought I would see Tom make a video about it. Thanks for bringing attention on how amazing the Wasserspiele and Bergpark are. They also the Wasserspiele at night /starting at sunset with lots of lights in different colours. Ist called Beleuchtete Wasserspiele and is absoluty gorgeous.
I just read that from 29.09 - 01.10 the Bergpark will have a new kind of event this year! They will turn the park into a illuminated dreamland, they say.
We have just visited the park today! At precisely 14:30 the plays start! The place was absolutely packed. And people were really all following the water to the different stations. The romantic parts are definitely my favourite!
Honestly though, if I was Jeff Bezos, I would totally go and have a Pyramid built somewhere out in the desert as my tomb. You could even hire a bunch of archeologists: wanna try and find out how the Egyptians did it? Try it yourself! And then you have a monument to hopefully last the ages as well
@@shacuras8201 they actually were not burials chambers but energy devices similar to how the real tesla built wardencliff tower to transmit energy before jp Morgan destroyed it.
Tom, there’s absolutely no need to justify spending money on this artwork, water/gravity devices, or any other art that makes life seem bearable. No need to apologise for presenting this.
I am German and I even live in Kassel (Where the Watergames are) and until now I did not know that they are powered purely by gravity. Thank you Tom Scott for enlightening my about my own hometown.
Not to mention, water breeds life! A water feature attracts all kinds of wild animals and helps plants thrive. They are really good for the environment in addition to all the other great things you mentioned!
Somewhat agreed. You have to be very careful with water because water has to come from somewhere and go somewhere. A water feature not well designed becomes a stagnant sewer or a horrific waste. Both can cause serious damage to the environment.
ehh, generally speaking it's ecologically best to leave water alone. Every gallon of water that passes through here is a gallon being drained from a lake upriver. Every metre of pipework in this structure used to be a metre of riverbed.
Beauty is never a waste. It's awesome that we can build things that can be enjoyed by generations of people. I wish flowers got half the consideration that street cleaning gets.
I would argue that these works of vanity are very important for normies like me. When I go to these manors with spectacular gardens and fountains, it's very enjoyable. I don't feel jealous at all, I just appreciate that someone spent their wealth on something amazing that other people could enjoy.
It hurts my soul that there isn't more sites like this everywhere. A perfect blend of man's genius and nature's beauty. Aesthetically, western countries have regressed badly since the 1800/1900s.
It's so weird to see a Tom Scott video about the town I live in. To everyone visiting, the view from the top is spectacular and worth going up by itself, even without the fountains doing their stuff.
Two months after watching the video, I happened to be in a situation where I could visit, and it was indeed magnificent! Do be advised, the actual show is only on Wednesdays and Sundays from 2:30pm.
@@user-kx7ls8ds9j Honestly, I don't care for light effects in fountains. I know it takes time, effort and skill to add them properly. And I can appreciate the work that goes into integrating light shows into fountains. But for me personally it is all about what you can do with the water. I don't have issue with things like computer controlled fountains, but that tends to be hidden. Oh and I bet you are correct I bet it can look great. But for me I would look at it once and go "nifty" and never care about it again. I am of the same opinion on things like the Eiffel Tower. The light shows they have there are the definition of kitsch to me. That tower is glorious in its own right. (not to mention some outright uptight assholery when it comes to copyrights of those)
@@whyjnot420 oh well Interpreted the “magical” not as you meant then. Plus, the lighting is more around the bridges and not necessarily the fountains. Still, water flowing of course. But I liked it because of the mix of nature and old architecture in special lighting. Guess it offers more for different people
@@user-kx7ls8ds9j Think in terms of someone from the countryside coming into classical rome and seeing rather elaborate fountains everywhere. That is all the magic I need. Go to far and it turns into wannabe Disney.
Throughout history it has generally been merchants, landowners, and rulers who would commission works of art. I hope that this can continue into the future as spending extra money on cultural works is also an important part of our society.
when lived in massachusits thaere was a bunch artwork including this golfball machine that was featured in a mathbook and was tore down in the 0s when another rich guy baught the building , tore down all the artwork.
@@Friek555 The majority of the publicly funded art I've seen is rather pathetic or even ugly compared to the private patronage of Renaissance Italy, Germany, and France. "Democratic" is a nice sounding buzzword, but what we really want is good art.
@@Friek555 I'd like to make a counterpoint though (and I'm simply playing devil's advocate here) -- rich people commissioning stuff like this do it to make something they like, and there's often more authenticity behind it, vs publicly funded artworks being designed and approved by committee which can be a bit soulless and results in works everyone can tolerate but that no one _loves._
@@Woodside235 Why would a committee actually design the artwork? And why would only commissioned art be worthwhile, not artworks created by an artist and sold to a public museum instead of a private collector? Are the works displayed in a commercial art gallery all more loved and authentic than those in a modern exhibition of an art museum? Why would the artists receiving a grant from a public foundation pour less of their love into their works than the 'artists' using an open-source algorithm fed with portraits of some old noblemen to print out trash sold at Christie's?
Related but can we also bring back the public parks that house these fountains and water plays? Because not only could you flex your wealth but also create a public service that will be enjoyed for generations. Why own a giant mansion that's filled to the brim with expensive furniture and paintings if nobody can see it?
@@Unknown_Genius we could always use more museums and especially libraries, and boost funding for the ones we already have. They don't all have to be grand like the Met in NYC.
People back then had a spine and showed gratitude towards important persons. Scientists, philosopher, inventors were the rockstar of that era. ✌️ But now it's all messes up. Just consider yourself lucky that Elite classes are not straight up reducing human population. 😆
Wow, Tom Scott was at my home town. When clicking on the video I already half exspected that it might be about Kassel, but I was absolutely flashed nonetheless when it really was. Thanks for the great Video as always:)
You came to my hometown of Kassel! I'm glad you enjoyed this engineering marvel and shared it with the world. If you can squeeze it into your travel plans, I'd highly suggest you come to Kassel this summer when documenta is happening. In this once-every-five-year art exhibit the entire city is transformed from a provincial center into somewhat of a world city. Hit me up if you'd like to get a tour from a Kassel native some time in June or July.
It also sends back money into the economy. Having artists, plumbers, engineers and architects earning money instead of sending that money into another big international corporation that makes cars.
I really liked those overgrown waterfalls! It is has that natural charm to it! I am like enough to live close to Petergof so i saw it shiny gold “wasserspiele” many times, but this one is refreshing to see :)
Ich liebe die Videos die Tom hier in Deutschland gedreht hat. Sind einfach super interessant und natürlich lerne selbst ich als Deutscher immer mehr weitere tolle Orte in und um Deutschland herum durch diese Videos kennen. Dafür würde ich mich einfach mal gerne bedanken. Mach weiter so und Liebe Grüße aus dem Schwabenland.
You’ve made me passionate about civil engineering. Probably won’t do anything with that passion but your videos have made me think about the world and city I live in way differently, along with a greater appreciation (and frustration) for the architecture and infrastructure around us. Thank you for everything you make. P.S. I absolutely LOVE the technology videos you make, along with the visions of the future and the talks you’ve done.
I used to joke about how these Skyrim dungeons had complex lever riddles seemingly all mechanical in nature. After watching this, they might have been able to pull that off.
Over the ages, wealthy individuals and families enabled some of our most inspiring expressions of beauty. Just like the rest of us they’re flawed humans; but in this particular area of artistic patronage, I’m grateful. More fountains!
The Bergpark is amazing. There are so many spots off the waters main path where you can sit at waterfalls, in the shade of trees and just enjoy nature. Lots of different birds and even raccoons to watch. And if you stay away from the fountain you can enjoy it without seeing anybody. As if you were the nobleman, with exclusive usage rights :D Glad you liked it!
There's a similar one in Salzburg Austria where the Prince-Bishop built the whole garden and route with the intention of spraying his guests! Well worth a visit!
I agree. I read about things like the worlds fair in Paris where they literally built the most iconic piece of French architecture, and the world's tallest structure for the time, simply for the party. I miss when people filled the world with wonder.
I agree. Very little is built today with the intention of lasting that long. But maybe they aren’t parks or statues, but many wealthy people invest in entertainment like movies, television, or games. It’s not the same but that also has (or had) some modern value.
This video brings me back to my essay on Villa d'Este and its thousands of fountains including its water organ are powered solely by water and gravity. People are really amazing that they achieved these hundred years ago.
I read that the fountains at Versailles were gravity-fed, and I could never work out how they did it. Still not much more of a clue after watching this! I'll have to look up how to make one for my garden ...
"...and built to last for centuries" Now _that's_ the crucial point. Our world has a GDP of tens of trillions of dollars, but not much of it is spent on anything that lasts more than a lifetime
This stuff also wasn't built to last for centuries though. It only lasts that long because people spent a lot of money to maintain it. A lot of modern buildings could be maintained like that and last for centuries, but it usually just isn't worth it (unless it is remarkable enough to do it for idealistic purposes)
@@0106johnny That's fair, but I still think we're losing more value to deterioration than is necessary. For example designed obsolescence in household appliances.
@@0106johnny The feudal system aimed to perpetuate families (dynasties) and their estate for centuries. The system ended along with such constructions. There are some achievements of this system that suggest that it should not its total eradication, such as through ruinous estate taxes, is a mistake.
If you like big fountains, chatsworth house in the peak District has (correct me if I'm wrong) the tallest gravity powered fountain. It also has other water features :P
It's always fascinating to me how people hundreds of years built something for entertainment and it's still working to this day and amazes the crowd just like it did back in the day.
They are doing that, but nowadays those towers are mad of glass Edit: And, might I add, the only reason Tom finds this so cool because it's open to everyone. It's not like there's still some monarch/medieval banker who owns the park.
Mansions and designer architecture are the new castles. They’re not built as sturdy because they’re not built to ward off sieges, and also because they’re built with the assumption of easy access to frequent maintenance. There are structures built to last today, but it’s no longer the home of royalty. Countries don’t care about bloodlines, only transfer of wealth. Wealth is not located in the rulers’ homes, so no point in attacking them. So instead what’s built to last are the power plants, the hydroelectric dams, skyscrapers… Stuff expected to experience high stress, while also not being a cheap resource to quickly burn through. For contrast, mines and farms and oil rigs and low income housing are built shoddy and cheap, because those just ways to squeeze out an expendable resource as quickly as possible, leading to all the catastrophes we’re familiar with.
Stanway fountain in the Cotswolds is the largest gravity fountain in the world and according to their website opened in 2004. Maybe we could see even larger fountains in the future.
There is a similar gravity fed fountain, Andrews Geyser, in Old Fort, North Carolina. The fountain was constructed in 1885 by the railroad with a dual purpose: it was a feature of the Round Knob Hotel, and a tribute to the approximately 120 men who died building the railroad through this particularly treacherous stretch of land, that culminates with the crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide through the Swannanoa Tunnel. It is now a public park, free to all!
"On 23 June 2013, the total work of art of Wilhelmshöhe was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, an act that distinguished it as a cultural landscape that is unique: Nowhere else in the world was a place like this ever created: a park on a steeply sloping hillside featuring huge, artistically and technologically accomplished water structures such as those built at Kassel from 1691 onwards by Landgrave Carl and his successors." (found on the website of Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel)
That's what I always think The coolest buildings and sites come through people having unreasonably much money and power but these days they don't build these kinda things that much anymore
Ha! This is actually the town I was born in, we used to hang out in that park when I was a teenager. Kassel might not be the most famous spot but there's one or two reasons to pay a visit. Thanks for remind me, it indeed brings back memories.
Amazing! Wasn't expecting the trumpets from the statues. Wish rich people did cool stuff like this or all the stuff Carnegie financed instead of burning billions of dollars in a vanity trip to space or hoarding it like greedy dragons.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie, if I were a filthy rich I would definitely love to use my ill-earned money to build monumental stuff like this. The baroque should never have died.
Thank you, Tom, for your countless concise videos providing a glimpse into all of these fascinating places (and topics) I would have otherwise never even knew existed. Your work is appreciated! -Kevin [Chicago, USA]
I can't wait for the tongue-in-cheek title of this to get taken completely out of context by people who don't read the context before reacting. I mean, literally, I can't wait, it'll already be happening as you read this.
❤️
okay tom i think you forgot to take your meds
Yes Tom, it is happening already
Yea
Bro broke time
If I ever get rich, I’ll buy a massive gravity fountain just for you, Tom.
the Tom Scott Water Spot
one of us will definitely get rich very soon.
I would 2 now
Was thinking the same thing. Hopefully it happens to at least one Tom Scott viewer.
nice pfp ;)
Fun Fact: It was common for Roman nobles to financially ruin themselves under extreme social pressure from city officials, other nobles, and the mob to construct massive public works similar to these. This is why roman cities, and especially Rome itself, were often filled with opulent public spaces. It is also why many of the greatest roman constructs were funded directly by the emperor: he was almost always the wealthiest "noble."
We need to bring this tradition back.
Yes, the German nobles who built those were very aware of that. After all, they were princes of the Holy Roman Empire.
@@lilporky8565 I agree, it is time to bully rich people into doing level 1000 community service
What do you mean "almost" always? Didn't the "Caesar family" control like 1/4 of the land in the Empire directly and gain massive revenues from that?
@@jokig because the collape of rome is what we want for modern society.
you leftist freaks are half getting your way, and half supporting the very worst of conglomerates because they pretend to hoist rainbow flags. congrats you played yourself
The engineering behind this is pure genius, the trumpet using the airflow from the water is ingenious. This is so cool.
It is also out of necessity. The water takes so much air with it that it might damage the pipes and valves so you have to get rid of it. So why not use it to make some music!
Can you explain how this is pure genius, how does the water keep flowing without electricité?
Water flows downhill, that's all the power it needs
It may just be me, but I love public gardens like these that bring tourists and locals out into the outdoors. It's a great way to protect nature while also showcasing art, I hope projects like this will continue existing for years to come.
Vanity projects also create jobs
And they do help people- vanity projects might not be the best use of money, but large scale public works benefit everyone, not just the person who built them, and they can easily be made to confer that benefit over centuries, if not longer (honestly at by this point, few people would consider the Great Pyramid an overly extravagant headstone and waste of effort)
I strongly recommend the Sofia gardens in Uman, Ukraine. But not until this insane war has ended, of course.
Well it doesn't really protect nature, since all the "nature" you see is artificial. But in general it is good to bring people outside and if done correctly it can be new space for nature to settle, just don't use existing ecosystems, that would be destroyed in the process of building such gardens.
Check out "Schloss Ludwigsburg"
Note: "Wasserspiele" may translate to "water games", however is probably supposed to mean "water plays", as in theatre plays.
Or "Schauspiel" (show/play) in the definition of "Spektakel" (spectacle).
these fountains are similarly called water games in french “jeux d’eau” so it might still have the same meaning in german, not sure though
'Spiel mit mir' is 'play with me', so I think it's 'playing with water'.
Or, for a more cultural translation, 'cocking about with water'.
@@Skorpychan that would rather be "Wasserspielerei".
@@TheBoringEdward And thus, we see the problem with me trying to figure out German grammar from listening to Rammstein.
I'm on his side. Why waste money on a Yaht when you could build something for everyone to enjoy. I wish rich people built castles and palaces, too, honestly. Instead of these bland modern mansions. Come on, rich people. You've got money. Amaze me. Make something that will last centuries.
You're right.
But let's not be too kind to the uber-rich of the the 1700s. They didn't create this for everyone, they created it to impress the other uber rich, just like the Super-Yacht people do today.
The only reason we still have this stuff today is eventually those families moved on, lost power, and maybe even the grounds fell into disrepair. Then eventually it was sold/donated to the government, who likely had to restore it. That's when us plebes finally got to enjoy what richie-rich created for himself 300 years ago.
But you're right.... that ain't gonna happen with a Yacht build by a Russian oligarch, or Jeff Bezos. Those Yachts migt not be around in even 30 years, and zero chance of making it to 300.
Yes! And back in the late 1700's through to the mid to late 1800speople could tour the castles for for free when the family weren't there. So they really were open to the public. Od course the poorest didn't have the means to travel to see them, but everyone else could.
I think back in time rich people would make something that last a long time to mark history and make sure no one forget about them once they die (the real death) whereas nowadays people just wanna show off and live in the moment, just a theory of course
@@yawl923 That's more a difference between old money and new money.
New money does exactly what you're saying with showing off, and blowing huge amounts of money on dumb stuff like hundred million dollar yachts.
Old money tends to keep old things and maintain them.
Yet Bezos makes a penis shaped rocket.......
I like how the grand, meticulously carved statues proceed to make rubber chicken noises when water flows.
It's a very loud rubber chicken noises!
i knew it was familiar!
To be fair they probably sounded more in tune 300 years ago
@@vectorgeist You are underestimating how meticulous Germany maintenance is.
@@altersami9660 they said in the video they replaced the pipes. Meaning the original pipes that may have been in tune are gone.
"Maybe not fountains, maybe some other big physical art stuff..."
No Tom, don't compromise! Fountains! I demand more FOUNTAINS!
I won't rest until every single rich person has built a fountain!
YOU BUILD A FOUNTAIN! YOU TOO! BUILD THEM! MORE! *_MORE!_* MORE FOUNTAINS!
and a shrubbery!
mean more green spaces are always a benefit to the planet, but it also needs to be done ecological and as a boon to the area instead of causing more issues with the local biosphere
yes
Thank you my dude. This video was the last, and most vital clue to a mystery that I've been trying to solve for the greater part of my life. For over 30 years i have searched for evidence of this place, or at the very least, something extremely similar. I had only the fuzziest of memories to go off of. Memories of a brief segment featured in between shows i watched as a child. So thank you so much. I can finally prove after 3 decades that i wasn't crazy (at least about this) and that this place and others like it actually exist.
Same! I knew water and gravity could coexist... I just couldn't find proof.
That's Great! Nothing more frustrating than disjointed memories
Happy for you. I have a disjointed memory mystery as well that I cannot remember or find out. Hope I get lucky like you.
That's an incredibly satisfying experience when you make a connection that you've been missing for years! 🤯
I am from Germany and have not even heard of this place before
incredible engineering. the fact that it is 300 years old is INCREDIBLE.
The more surprising thing is that modern technology fails to last longer than something made 300 years ago.
@@Zaire82 well modern tech isnt 300 yrs old as it is modern
@@ioh4425 That is true, but totally irrelevant.
I hope you see how that doesn't matter without me having to explain it.
@@Zaire82 well it does matter cuz modern tech physically cant last longer than tech from 300 yrs ago as that tech was created 300 yrs ago and modern tech is in the last 10-20 yrs modern tech might be able to last 300 yrs but we dunno as its 20 yrs old
@@ioh4425 We do know. Architects design buildings with short lifespans intentionally. They also publish these lifespans for anyone to see and the buildings get demolished once they run out, otherwise they will become structurally unsound and put lives at risk.
This is due to modern techniques using mostly concrete. It's cheap and water resistant, but it doesn't last long. Even reinforced concrete needs to be replaced eventually.
Pipework in particular gets replaced quite frequently. That's why you can't go a month without coming across roadworks replacing them.
Modern techniques are _made_ to be replaced unlike old technology that's made to last indefinitely.
Before the industrial age, the water features at the Palace of Versailles had so little pressure available that technicians had to individually switch features on and off depending on where the people where promenading to and which features were in their eyesight.
The Schloss Schwetzingen in germany had enough water pressure to power all their fountains and water features. They still brag about that to every Tourist.
Learn your lessons, France, hire German engineers.
Ah, Versailles. Teaching engineers what mistakes to not make for centuries.
Isn't this the same thing that this park is doing as well?
Optimizing the graphics 😄
As a german, I can't fathom the fact that I just found out about this amazing place - and how 😀
Thanks Tom! You just set the destination for my next trip!
Iam literally from kassel
u know how happy iam ?
me too :D
Sience and architecture wise Germany is such an interesting country. i wasnt aware of that as a German. It also makes me very proud as a fellow German to see him being so interested in our country :)
@@Caysari Did you never hear the siren?
@@Happymali10 nah i always missed it
My manager: “Sir you have enough money to donate to-“
Me: “We building a fountain”
Manager: “But what about the-“
Me: “The horns? We will have those too”
@@randomsoul294
step 1: donate to charity
step 2: wait for the effects
step 3: find out that the money is being embezzled or just not used at all
@@randomsoul294 I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I have heard that certain charities are actually maintaining a state of poverty.
Recipe for ultimate stonks:
1) Do not donate what you have to charity.
2) Use the money to build massive fountains and water games.
3) Have people pay a small (I do mean small) fee to see the water games.
4) Earn more money than you spent.
5) You may now donate to charity.
STONKS!
@@sorrowandsufferin924 Biznis
@@jamescollins6085 Non profits use 95% for administrative salaries. Charities are just a way for the rich to get richer. The pelosi family runs the homeless charities in san francisco. They spend 42k per homeless person in the city. 95% of that is paid to her family and friends, 5% makes it to the homeless.
Never heard of this place and looked it up because of this video... and this is about 1-2 hours by train from where I live.
I'm definitely going to visit this month. Thanks!
@@Lucas-nw8bw Thanks for the advice :)
@@DamnZodiak Also: the Documenta 15 (a really big art exhibition across Kassel) just started so ti is definitely worth a visit!
@@mihklirir.5188 Thanks. I'm going in couple days, so this was just on time :)
@@DamnZodiak perfect! have a safe and fun trip! :)
"1-2 hours by train"
Just be happy you have a train. I don't live within 1-2 hours of a train itself, let alone a cool ancient gravity fountain.
I was not ready for the sound of those horns. Imagine being a well timed tourist there and not knowing what those are in the slightest.
And now imagine encountering this in the post apocalypse, accidentally setting off that lever trying to find drinkable water, and shitting yourself as you summon every zombie and cannibal cult for five miles.
This has quite literally happened to me I was taken there by family not knowing what was in store.
@@JudgeEomer fresh water, but at what cost?xD
@@ellicerslavic Everything.
@@JudgeEomer I was also thinking the noise is very menacing. I think a horror movie could have that sound.
Alles was ich brauche um glücklich zu sein sind mehr Tom Scott Videos in Deutschland
dieses
@@Eyecosaeder und dann aus meiner Stadt. Ich dachte ich träume
dieses
Bin ich voll dafür
@@chaotus wenn ich voll bin, bin ich auch dafür 😉
I'm fascinated by follies and grottos and other weird things built just because someone felt like it. We don't have enough things like that in the US!
I find there is a significant lack of fountains in modern life.
fr and severe common case of bland white "futuristic" look
@@hellothere9167 that's a problem I have with a lot of places - particularly modern architecture, where I live your house is brick red, white or grey. Future is looking real bright guys
@@mewblue3997 yes, bright but not colourful
The fountains close by here have been dry for years. They are considered a waste of water.
they've been a source of legionella outbreaks because the water that was stagnant in the pipes is distributed in a fine breathable mist over onlookers...
If you consider visiting the city of Kassel to have a look yourself on these Wasserspiele in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, be aware, that this summer there is also the documenta in Kassel, which is one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art and takes place only every five years.
We even had Brad Pitt here 10 years ago for the documenta :)
Seems like I should use my 9€ ticket and visit Kassel this month.
@@ninamarie177 good plan, I might do the same.
On the other hand, if you go there during documenta, the crowds around the features might be so large that you won't be able to see much.
@@Nooticus What happens if your bucket arrives sooner than 5 years? 😶
Ive always been obsessed with fountains and water-features. They've always had a place in my heart, just watching the water flow down from the top. This entire park is a estimate to how easily entertained humans can be and I appreciate that.
The artistic work here isn’t actually worthless in terms of helping humanity. Sure there are many things that could be more helpful, but turning things like this into public parks and centres could very easily improve the quality of life of people who live in or visit the area by adding a little bit of extra wonder and beauty, and can definitely improve mental health and well-being
Towns and villages die when there is no longer a draw to be there. Random and cool things like this can be exactly what they need.
also tourism costs and the fact that the work making it was all paid labour. All money spent in any capacity is money recirculated, irrelevant of how it is spent. The only time money unfairly flows one way is for high profit margin products like Apple devices. I mean, they sold a pair of wheels for 600 freedom eagles, meanwhile Xiaomi takes a sub 20 dollar profit margin per phone. Economics is mostly a game of information asymmetry when it comes to people making lots of money, consumers don't weigh all the options equally, so they buy more expensive things that have a higher profit margin, that profit margin reaches the CEO's pocket. Even things like investments are going to other companies and paying for salaries, upgrading the tech for the people who work there, etc.
It also has the effect of infusing all the nearby properties with value, because who doesn't want to live within walking/biking distance of the cool gravity fountain?
Hey i am from the city this video is in and you can actually see the statue from almost every part in our city and it is a symbol of it as well. it definitly makes our city interresting but we have a lot of other interresting art and are a city of 200k pople
Also, people got paid for building all this! People were paid for the pipes and mechanisms and others are still paid to mainting everything. It won't help people in poorer regions of the world, but at least it's going back into the economy instead of being hoarded up by a dragon
Just for you Tom... when I'm incredibly rich, I'm going to build a randomly-activated water/fire fountain surrounded by 2D modernistic illusion arts inside a discontinued nuclear power plant surrounded by giant mechanical animals.
And I'll rent it out to TV show directors from time to time and allow them to film epic title sequences there.
Now, *that's* dedication.
It can only be reached via hovercraft.
That'll have to compete with my project once I build a zero-gravity indoor waterpark containing a diving gondola that runs sideways and a poison garden covered in tires that you can hit with a hammer, located inside a tiny skyscraper surrounded by a chainmail box, that can be accessed by riding a couch down a musical road that's beneath an active gun range, on a national border.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Aha, but does yours include a carousel that tests public toll roads without speed limits that you can fire a gun over?
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 but the more important question is: does it have to legally wobble?
I visited Bergpark about 15 or so years ago and loved it, but since I don't speak german and my friends that took me didn't know or explain how it worked this video has made me realize it was even more amazing than I thought. Thanks Tom!
you can get an english speaking guided tour there nowadays! The most interesting fact for me was, that they hid the openings to the pipes during WW2. Because the nazis would have taken all the steel piping for manufacturing weapons.
I'm not sure what surprised me more: the fact that people made this, or the fact that people made this 300 years ago.
Excellent video as always, Tom! I'm excited for whatever you have planned next.
Do not take previous generations as incompetent. People made Egyptian pyramids thousands of years ago. Just because technology and knowledge is lost doesn't mean they didn't exist.
So the more surprising thing really is that it *lasted* so long and functioning, not that it was made
Or the fact that its still working after 300 years?
its in kasel btw
IQ has been dropping the last 120 years so id be impressed how smarter engineers were back then
Research the Old World internet friend
You’ll be surprised
Start with the The World Fair 1800-1900
Structures that couldn’t be made today made by people in carriages (?)
Projects like that sure are vanity, but they can have enormously positive effects - not only because of their beautify for the general public but also because they can become tourist attractions which centuries later are visited by a RUclipsr from the UK with millions of subscribers :' ) So, rich people, please take some inspiration!
Tourism causes people to move around, we're trying to reduce transportation not increase it.
The sound is an amazing part of the whole thing. Just so amazing and creative to not “waste” the moving, displaced air
It would have been nice to see more behind the scenes stuff here, like how it's all piped and filled and how high up the tank is to create the pressures and whatnot.
That is explained in the video. It is filled during winter and spring, by snow and rain. Once the water has reached the bottom it is not pumped back up.
Google is your friend! ;)
Actually there isn't so much to see. I live about 100 meters away from the Bergpark where this is located. The Reservoir in the Videos is one of the few parts of the "inner working" Parts that anyone can see. Most of pipes are just buried and the valves are in simple holes in the ground. And because of the the planers wanted to make it seem like the Park is even bigger than it is, there are only a few sightlines an getting a feel for the scale of everything is even in person hard. In a museum are some Diagrams and maps, but even with those and growing up here it is really hard to wrap your head around what is where in relation to each other.
As far as pressure build up ist concerned well the Reservoir for the fountain is about 60m higher than the "Fontänenteich"( The Fountain lake) hidden in the forest about 1 Km up the hill.
And it uses valves as "pressure capacitors".
If I'm not mistaken, the grand fountains of the Peterhof palace in St. Petersburg work similarly, they're also gravity-powered miracles of fountain-technology. However, the horns on the Water-Games fountain are really something :0
Yep! Been there.
Russian here - can confirm
I've visited the Peterhof water features, they're fantastic and are indeed gravity powered.
Gonna make a road trip this weekend to visit Peterhoff. The fountains there are powered all season long since the water is gravity fed from a lake high above the park. So they don't need reservoirs.
I was in St. Petersburg 2 years ago but didn't go to the fountains, dammit
No your right, the money spent on projects like these back in the day went to local smiths, architects, masons, and landscapers. They were built to show of the engineering of the time, and for that purpose were built for the public.
A Modern oversized private yacht sees all that money going to like one of 3 major luxury corporations that likely pay their workers a pittance.
Disneyland brings tourism, a megamansion is a ridiculous exclusive theme park that will will only have like 5 people or less in it 90% of the time.
The people who work on the yachts are paid professionals, you don't hire an idiot off the street to build something like that.
There are actually a lot of small trade businesses involved in the building and maintenance of luxury yachts/parts for said yachts
Yup!
@Anel Zukić It ain't just the rich who feel disconnected from their communities, and especially their place of birth.. there's very valid reasons to I'd say.
it was an entire city/country way of showing off, not just the rich
Let's make a kickstarter for a fountain with a gigantic Tom Scott statue on it.
immediately supporting it with all my life savings
Replace Herkules with Tom Scott you say?
Make the Tom Scott statue itself spray out water.
@@hchskxnbcj is there a difference?
@@ZNotFound from where?
I really wish that someone somewhere in the world rich enough to do this is going to see this video and actually decide to take you up on that and build one, and maybe even invite you to the opening.
If that ever happens, please make a video about it.
I bet it would be illegal, probably not even possible to get a zoning license for something like this
It's not wealth barring it, but politics. You need city permits for it.
Send it to Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, so that that instead of throwing away their money by travelling into space, they build something nice like this. ;)
@@Anderkent why would that be illegal and where? Doesn't make any sense
@@n1ppe because you can't just steal *all* the water from some river
yahoo thats my home city right there
since my childhood i was always amazed by the Wasserspiele, but not only was it something amazing back then, learning and understanding more and more of it and realizing the scale of it amazes me again and again.
So cool to have the one and only Tom Scott showing this to the world!
Thank you for visiting :)
I wonder if there are actual rich people watching this and are willing to hear you out on this idea
Heck I'm even down to buy your currently non existent merch right now!
There are dozens of (looks at bank account) _them_
dont worry bro imma do it
Naw. They're taking their backup super-yachts to Cannes.
Maybe Jeff bezos will build a massive dildo shaped fountain. Continue the theme.
Love to see some Kassel represantation. It's a pity you didn't talk about the "beleuchtete Wasserspiele" ("lighted watergames"). Regularily, at night, the different parts of the Wasserspiele are lighted in different colours and it almost feels magical walking around at night along a stream of glowing water.
Also, sometimes barock bands play music there in den pavillon. It's quite magical indeed.
I can't help but agree, these sorts of beautification projects are quite literally a philanthropic gift.
"Spiel" can both mean "game" and "play", in this case "play" would be the correct translation because the water gives something like a theater play for the visitors. The translation "games" would not make any sense here.
Das stimmt
Yep. "spiel ein Spiel' - 'Play a game'
"Water toy"? It is a big boys' toy.
I agree on that but personally I never thought about "play". I always thought the -spiele in "Wasserspiele" comes from "Spielerei" which translates to gimmick/ shenanigans/ gadget.
The English website for the Bergpark uses the translation "water features".
So cool seeing my hometown featured. Never thought I would see Tom make a video about it. Thanks for bringing attention on how amazing the Wasserspiele and Bergpark are. They also the Wasserspiele at night /starting at sunset with lots of lights in different colours. Ist called Beleuchtete Wasserspiele and is absoluty gorgeous.
I love how they are actually just named "Beleuchtete Wasserspiele", not some fancy made-up title... just what it is
I am here. Just visited the park today. 😂
I just read that from 29.09 - 01.10 the Bergpark will have a new kind of event this year! They will turn the park into a illuminated dreamland, they say.
im shocked too
Göttinger hier 😂 Hallo Nachbar
We have just visited the park today! At precisely 14:30 the plays start! The place was absolutely packed. And people were really all following the water to the different stations. The romantic parts are definitely my favourite!
I remember visiting Versailles, and they turned on the fountains as I was walking in the gardens. The whole ground rumbled. It was quite amazing!
I think sokin really likes you
I agree, we have a disturbing lack of newly built pyramids
The Luxor exists, what's your point?
Uhh we're forgetting about the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid in Memphis Tennessee
Honestly though, if I was Jeff Bezos, I would totally go and have a Pyramid built somewhere out in the desert as my tomb. You could even hire a bunch of archeologists: wanna try and find out how the Egyptians did it? Try it yourself! And then you have a monument to hopefully last the ages as well
@@shacuras8201 they actually were not burials chambers but energy devices similar to how the real tesla built wardencliff tower to transmit energy before jp Morgan destroyed it.
@@Jim26D nice troll, tinfoil hats off to you sir
Tom, there’s absolutely no need to justify spending money on this artwork, water/gravity devices, or any other art that makes life seem bearable. No need to apologise for presenting this.
I am German and I even live in Kassel (Where the Watergames are) and until now I did not know that they are powered purely by gravity.
Thank you Tom Scott for enlightening my about my own hometown.
I am too and I didn't know about the horns...
@@Rianolca Me neither :)
Not to mention, water breeds life! A water feature attracts all kinds of wild animals and helps plants thrive. They are really good for the environment in addition to all the other great things you mentioned!
Somewhat agreed. You have to be very careful with water because water has to come from somewhere and go somewhere. A water feature not well designed becomes a stagnant sewer or a horrific waste. Both can cause serious damage to the environment.
@@latrodectusmactans7592 Very true; fair points.
ehh, generally speaking it's ecologically best to leave water alone. Every gallon of water that passes through here is a gallon being drained from a lake upriver. Every metre of pipework in this structure used to be a metre of riverbed.
Climate change isn't real
@@lucasrobin2788 Maybe in the desert. Even there, reclamation projects are refilling aquifers. There's no water shortage in Germany right now.
Beauty is never a waste. It's awesome that we can build things that can be enjoyed by generations of people. I wish flowers got half the consideration that street cleaning gets.
I would argue that these works of vanity are very important for normies like me. When I go to these manors with spectacular gardens and fountains, it's very enjoyable. I don't feel jealous at all, I just appreciate that someone spent their wealth on something amazing that other people could enjoy.
It hurts my soul that there isn't more sites like this everywhere. A perfect blend of man's genius and nature's beauty. Aesthetically, western countries have regressed badly since the 1800/1900s.
Spectacular, fun, built to last for centuries, and crucially: freely open to the public.
there are so many fountains in my city in germany and i love them so much
It's so weird to see a Tom Scott video about the town I live in. To everyone visiting, the view from the top is spectacular and worth going up by itself, even without the fountains doing their stuff.
Kassel gang :P
This is absolutely surreal so see pop up in my recommendations and realize "this is my hometown"
dam German engineering never ceases to amaze me, even 300 year old fountains
Ha, dam, I see what you did there
Not only that it was different project from each generation becoming 1 and complete the water game that finally finish in the last part
If you like old fountains, Villa d’Este in Tivoli, just outside Rome, has some that are even older (400+ years). Highly recommend!
some old time rich volk had to get something to stay happy
Rudol von Stroheim approves of this message.
Two months after watching the video, I happened to be in a situation where I could visit, and it was indeed magnificent!
Do be advised, the actual show is only on Wednesdays and Sundays from 2:30pm.
I can also recommend the “wasserspiel” (they translated it to Trick fountain) at Schloss Hellbrun in Salzburg! I’m amazed every time i go there!
There is something magical about well made, elaborate fountains.
Now imagine they illuminate them colorful at night. Which is what they do at this place.
You should check out pictures of it
@@user-kx7ls8ds9j Honestly, I don't care for light effects in fountains. I know it takes time, effort and skill to add them properly. And I can appreciate the work that goes into integrating light shows into fountains. But for me personally it is all about what you can do with the water.
I don't have issue with things like computer controlled fountains, but that tends to be hidden.
Oh and I bet you are correct I bet it can look great. But for me I would look at it once and go "nifty" and never care about it again.
I am of the same opinion on things like the Eiffel Tower. The light shows they have there are the definition of kitsch to me. That tower is glorious in its own right. (not to mention some outright uptight assholery when it comes to copyrights of those)
@@whyjnot420 oh well
Interpreted the “magical” not as you meant then. Plus, the lighting is more around the bridges and not necessarily the fountains. Still, water flowing of course. But I liked it because of the mix of nature and old architecture in special lighting.
Guess it offers more for different people
@@user-kx7ls8ds9j Think in terms of someone from the countryside coming into classical rome and seeing rather elaborate fountains everywhere. That is all the magic I need. Go to far and it turns into wannabe Disney.
Tom, you always sound like you're trying to convince a local sheriff that you just saw a werewolf.
Throughout history it has generally been merchants, landowners, and rulers who would commission works of art. I hope that this can continue into the future as spending extra money on cultural works is also an important part of our society.
Today, a lot of art is publically funded, which seems much more fair and democratic than leaving the commissioning of art to rich people.
when lived in massachusits thaere was a bunch artwork including this golfball machine that was featured in a mathbook and was tore down in the 0s when another rich guy baught the building , tore down all the artwork.
@@Friek555 The majority of the publicly funded art I've seen is rather pathetic or even ugly compared to the private patronage of Renaissance Italy, Germany, and France. "Democratic" is a nice sounding buzzword, but what we really want is good art.
@@Friek555 I'd like to make a counterpoint though (and I'm simply playing devil's advocate here) -- rich people commissioning stuff like this do it to make something they like, and there's often more authenticity behind it, vs publicly funded artworks being designed and approved by committee which can be a bit soulless and results in works everyone can tolerate but that no one _loves._
@@Woodside235 Why would a committee actually design the artwork? And why would only commissioned art be worthwhile, not artworks created by an artist and sold to a public museum instead of a private collector? Are the works displayed in a commercial art gallery all more loved and authentic than those in a modern exhibition of an art museum?
Why would the artists receiving a grant from a public foundation pour less of their love into their works than the 'artists' using an open-source algorithm fed with portraits of some old noblemen to print out trash sold at Christie's?
Related but can we also bring back the public parks that house these fountains and water plays?
Because not only could you flex your wealth but also create a public service that will be enjoyed for generations.
Why own a giant mansion that's filled to the brim with expensive furniture and paintings if nobody can see it?
What to spend money on if you're rich:
- some damn subtitles
- weird fountains
Crazy to think that rich folks used to build museums, libraries, and universities. Now it’s just mega yachts and space tourism
What makes you think rich people are not still doing those things?
@@edenassos That’s a fair point, totally an assumption on my part. Confirmation bias possibly. Thanks for helping me reframe my thoughts
@@edenassos because they're not.
@@Unknown_Genius we could always use more museums and especially libraries, and boost funding for the ones we already have. They don't all have to be grand like the Met in NYC.
People back then had a spine and showed gratitude towards important persons.
Scientists, philosopher, inventors were the rockstar of that era. ✌️
But now it's all messes up.
Just consider yourself lucky that Elite classes are not straight up reducing human population. 😆
Wow, Tom Scott was at my home town. When clicking on the video I already half exspected that it might be about Kassel, but I was absolutely flashed nonetheless when it really was.
Thanks for the great Video as always:)
You came to my hometown of Kassel! I'm glad you enjoyed this engineering marvel and shared it with the world. If you can squeeze it into your travel plans, I'd highly suggest you come to Kassel this summer when documenta is happening. In this once-every-five-year art exhibit the entire city is transformed from a provincial center into somewhat of a world city. Hit me up if you'd like to get a tour from a Kassel native some time in June or July.
It also sends back money into the economy. Having artists, plumbers, engineers and architects earning money instead of sending that money into another big international corporation that makes cars.
I really liked those overgrown waterfalls! It is has that natural charm to it! I am like enough to live close to Petergof so i saw it shiny gold “wasserspiele” many times, but this one is refreshing to see :)
Ich liebe die Videos die Tom hier in Deutschland gedreht hat. Sind einfach super interessant und natürlich lerne selbst ich als Deutscher immer mehr weitere tolle Orte in und um Deutschland herum durch diese Videos kennen.
Dafür würde ich mich einfach mal gerne bedanken.
Mach weiter so und Liebe Grüße aus dem Schwabenland.
Me after mechanical elephant: Well, that’s it, all the niche but interesting topics have been visited by Tom.
Tom Scott: Fetch me my red T-shirt..
There is a giant harry potter castle in the park which has been renovated for the last 5-10 years
You’ve made me passionate about civil engineering. Probably won’t do anything with that passion but your videos have made me think about the world and city I live in way differently, along with a greater appreciation (and frustration) for the architecture and infrastructure around us.
Thank you for everything you make.
P.S. I absolutely LOVE the technology videos you make, along with the visions of the future and the talks you’ve done.
I used to joke about how these Skyrim dungeons had complex lever riddles seemingly all mechanical in nature. After watching this, they might have been able to pull that off.
Over the ages, wealthy individuals and families enabled some of our most inspiring expressions of beauty. Just like the rest of us they’re flawed humans; but in this particular area of artistic patronage, I’m grateful. More fountains!
I lived in Kassel for several years - great seeing you making a video about the Wasserspiele.
The Bergpark is amazing. There are so many spots off the waters main path where you can sit at waterfalls, in the shade of trees and just enjoy nature. Lots of different birds and even raccoons to watch. And if you stay away from the fountain you can enjoy it without seeing anybody. As if you were the nobleman, with exclusive usage rights :D
Glad you liked it!
Don't forget the rose gardens where in spring time you can smell the roses, and often times marihuana too.
1000% agree that building massive gardens and decorative waterworks should come back in style.
Ultra-wealthy - 'Nah. I'll just buy another boat'.
That horn feature is such a flex
There's a similar one in Salzburg Austria where the Prince-Bishop built the whole garden and route with the intention of spraying his guests! Well worth a visit!
i live there, and because the title didnt give it away directly, i almost instantly went "huh this place seems so familiar" ^^
I agree. I read about things like the worlds fair in Paris where they literally built the most iconic piece of French architecture, and the world's tallest structure for the time, simply for the party.
I miss when people filled the world with wonder.
Watergames and watersports are two VERY VERY different things.
I agree. Very little is built today with the intention of lasting that long. But maybe they aren’t parks or statues, but many wealthy people invest in entertainment like movies, television, or games. It’s not the same but that also has (or had) some modern value.
They do invest but that's just it, for them it is an investment for the money, not the art, not for the public, not even for vanity.
This video brings me back to my essay on Villa d'Este and its thousands of fountains including its water organ are powered solely by water and gravity. People are really amazing that they achieved these hundred years ago.
I read that the fountains at Versailles were gravity-fed, and I could never work out how they did it. Still not much more of a clue after watching this! I'll have to look up how to make one for my garden ...
"...and built to last for centuries"
Now _that's_ the crucial point. Our world has a GDP of tens of trillions of dollars, but not much of it is spent on anything that lasts more than a lifetime
This stuff also wasn't built to last for centuries though. It only lasts that long because people spent a lot of money to maintain it. A lot of modern buildings could be maintained like that and last for centuries, but it usually just isn't worth it (unless it is remarkable enough to do it for idealistic purposes)
@@0106johnny That's fair, but I still think we're losing more value to deterioration than is necessary. For example designed obsolescence in household appliances.
@@0106johnny The feudal system aimed to perpetuate families (dynasties) and their estate for centuries. The system ended along with such constructions. There are some achievements of this system that suggest that it should not its total eradication, such as through ruinous estate taxes, is a mistake.
It's a good thing someone found a use for gravity, it is mostly a nuisance
If you like big fountains, chatsworth house in the peak District has (correct me if I'm wrong) the tallest gravity powered fountain. It also has other water features :P
It's always fascinating to me how people hundreds of years built something for entertainment and it's still working to this day and amazes the crowd just like it did back in the day.
Entertainment? What a crude way to say art.
I watched the video when it came out and actually went there 2 months later. Whether you want the title or not, you're definitely an influencer, Tom!
I've been saying the same thing! Why isn't anyone building majestic castles with towers and stuff anymore smh
They are doing that, but nowadays those towers are mad of glass
Edit: And, might I add, the only reason Tom finds this so cool because it's open to everyone. It's not like there's still some monarch/medieval banker who owns the park.
Mansions and designer architecture are the new castles.
They’re not built as sturdy because they’re not built to ward off sieges, and also because they’re built with the assumption of easy access to frequent maintenance.
There are structures built to last today, but it’s no longer the home of royalty. Countries don’t care about bloodlines, only transfer of wealth. Wealth is not located in the rulers’ homes, so no point in attacking them. So instead what’s built to last are the power plants, the hydroelectric dams, skyscrapers… Stuff expected to experience high stress, while also not being a cheap resource to quickly burn through. For contrast, mines and farms and oil rigs and low income housing are built shoddy and cheap, because those just ways to squeeze out an expendable resource as quickly as possible, leading to all the catastrophes we’re familiar with.
Stanway fountain in the Cotswolds is the largest gravity fountain in the world and according to their website opened in 2004. Maybe we could see even larger fountains in the future.
There is a similar gravity fed fountain, Andrews Geyser, in Old Fort, North Carolina. The fountain was constructed in 1885 by the railroad with a dual purpose: it was a feature of the Round Knob Hotel, and a tribute to the approximately 120 men who died building the railroad through this particularly treacherous stretch of land, that culminates with the crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide through the Swannanoa Tunnel. It is now a public park, free to all!
I hope some day I can become rich so Tom can make a video on my strange fountain
Kassel is such a great German city! Love seeing it get some attention.
"On 23 June 2013, the total work of art of Wilhelmshöhe was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, an act that distinguished it as a cultural landscape that is unique: Nowhere else in the world was a place like this ever created: a park on a steeply sloping hillside featuring huge, artistically and technologically accomplished water structures such as those built at Kassel from 1691 onwards by Landgrave Carl and his successors." (found on the website of Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel)
That's what I always think
The coolest buildings and sites come through people having unreasonably much money and power but these days they don't build these kinda things that much anymore
I work as a gardener of One of oldest castles in Denmark…. Now i Now want we need to build. Thx Tom Scott
nobody is taking about the fantastic timing of that fountain shot haha.
Next MrBeast video: 'Demolishing a town's water fountain and surprising them with a 50ft one'.
I always thought It was sad that rich people today are into building modern white slab homes and have less interest in classical architecture
Thats because rich people can't afford it. A trained monkey can build a white slab, but it takes a master mason to build a classical home
Right. Just build rectangles. When this 300 year old architecture is so much more advanced and complex.
I like harsh, minimalist modern architecture - but I think more water features would definitely improve any structure or environment.
@@AdamHillikerLikesRobots i feel like the current mansions built also are not gonna last 300 years
@@AdamHillikerLikesRobots MFW the 4 inches of standing water in my basement is now a “water feature” and an “improvement” to my home
Ha! This is actually the town I was born in, we used to hang out in that park when I was a teenager. Kassel might not be the most famous spot but there's one or two reasons to pay a visit. Thanks for remind me, it indeed brings back memories.
Amazing! Wasn't expecting the trumpets from the statues. Wish rich people did cool stuff like this or all the stuff Carnegie financed instead of burning billions of dollars in a vanity trip to space or hoarding it like greedy dragons.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie, if I were a filthy rich I would definitely love to use my ill-earned money to build monumental stuff like this. The baroque should never have died.
Thank you, Tom, for your countless concise videos providing a glimpse into all of these fascinating places (and topics) I would have otherwise never even knew existed. Your work is appreciated!
-Kevin [Chicago, USA]
Actually, I've been to this spot, last winter. I had no idea it looked like this in the summer - in the winter it's barren as hell. Thanks Tom!