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Our country does not have many monumental fountains. But at Stuyvesantplein in Bezuidenhout, there is one: the Juliana fountain. A large bowl on columns forms the water basin, surrounded by four lions who act as powerful sentinels. However, the monument created in 1910 by architect J. Limburg and sculptor Jan Altorf no longer serves its purpose. The water basin has become a planter.

At the time, the water must have gurgled happily. The fountain was a very appropriate birth monument. After all, water is the source of all life. By erecting this monumental fountain, the residents of The Hague expressed their joy at the birth of Orange Princess Juliana. The words 'In happy memory of 30 April 1909 founded by residents of The Hague' on the edge indicate this. The gift was unveiled by Juliana's father, Prince Hendrik, on Juliana van Stolberg Square. In 1956 it moved to Stuyvesantplein.

The Juliana Fountain, also known as the 'lion monument', is Altorf's largest and best-known monument in The Hague. The lions make it clear that Altorf, who is best known for the countless small animal figures in stone, bronze and terracotta on flat blocks and other buildings, was also a master at depicting animals on a larger scale. He always took the broad outline of the animal, working not in details but in taut planes and lines. Not pure realism, therefore, but an abstraction of reality. In this way he shows himself to be a connoisseur of the work of the Amsterdam sculptor Joseph Mendes da Costa (1863-1939). In turn, the influence of Altorf's work can be seen in the birds, cats, monkeys and chameleons that Gra Rueb (1885-1972) made on buildings. She, too, carried out many commissions in The Hague.