A Town Is Building a Public Beer Fountain to Attract Tourists
TIME
By Denver Nicks
February 11, 2016
SLOVENIA , CENTRAL EUROPE – Zalec, a small town in central Slovenia, is famed locally for the hop farms that surround it in what is known as the “valley of green gold.” Soon, however, according to reporting from the BBC, the town is likely be known for something else: a public beer fountain.
The project, which proponents say will create Europe’s first public beer fountain, gently gurgling local brews rather than water, has no set completion date. Once completed, visitors will pay around $6.75 for 10.5 fl oz, served in a commemorative mug, of one of a variety of locally produced beers.
The cost of the fountain—projected to be about $400,000—will be half financed by the city, the rest covered by private donations, according to the town mayor Jako Kos. Some locals have grumbled that the money could be better spent elsewhere in the community, but the mayor insists the fountain will draw money-spending visitors. “It’s true the fountain won’t be cheap,” he said. “But it’s a development project, a tourism product.”