Wiesbaden is rich in thermal springs, but poor in good drinking water. In the Middle Ages, the population of Wiesbaden was supplied with drinking water from the field wells in the district around the city.

This changed with the construction of the town well in 1567, which was not a draw well used to extract groundwater, but a "jumping" or running well whose water was fed into the town via a pipe from the Heiligenborn spring located above the Salzbach valley. During the Thirty Years' War and in the period that followed, the supply line was destroyed and only makeshift repairs were made, meaning that the town well no longer functioned reliably. The residents once again had to laboriously fetch their drinking water either from the meadow well at Sonnenberger Tor or the other field wells. It was not until 1739 that the town well, which had almost dried up, was put back into operation.

In 1753, its form and setting, which have been preserved to this day, were essentially created. The Nassau heraldic lion and the red sandstone fountain setting were supplied by the stonemason Anton Wiedemann from Reistenhausen am Main. The lion holds a shield surrounded by three lilies with the Nassau coat of arms, a lion on a field strewn with shingles.

However, the water was still supplied via wooden pipes. As these often broke or rotted, the water supply was frequently interrupted. When it rained for long periods, the market fountain water was cloudy and milky and therefore practically undrinkable. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that cast iron pipes were laid.

With the introduction of a central water supply at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the town fountain lost its function after more than three centuries and became an ornamental fountain.