Merlion Fountain
Merlion Fountain stands in Singapore as a sculpture with a lion’s head and a fish’s body. Water pours from its mouth in Merlion Park. The creature links Singapore’s fishing-village origins, known as Temasek, with Singapura, meaning “lion city”.
Alec Fraser-Brunner designed the figure, which first served as a Singapore Tourism Board logo during the 1960s. Sculptor Lim Nang Seng created the statue, measuring 8.6 metres tall and weighing 70 tons. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew unveiled it at the Singapore River mouth in 1972. Construction of the Esplanade Bridge later blocked the view, so cranes and a barge moved the sculpture 120 metres in 2002.
The relocation placed the fountain in a setting where it could spout water again. Wheelchair access makes the landmark easier to experience, while its image continues through films, television, video games and art.
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Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Singapore. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
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myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.