Or anyone else who is (even) better than me with local Zurich knowledge:
Elefantenbach? Why?

I can't find a definitive answer on why it is called so - and before anyone says - the name appeared before the Elephant itself.

Elephant?

Yes - a big concrete elephant.

Worth a walk if you need something to amuse small (and large) people.

Because kids love playing in water and if there's an elephant there too they're more likely to go "Yayyyyy" when a stressed parent tries to get them out of the house. Especially when the water spouts from the trunk



So legend has it, one of Hannibal's elephants stopped here and refused to continue. Dunno if there's anything to it.

No idea.

But just as a wild guess, there may be some connection to the spice trade of Zürich's past. Similar to the Zunfthaus zum Kämbel and the Arabic costumes at Sächseläuten?

http://mobile.nzz.ch/zuerich/stadt_u....14054679.html

I know Frank - I read that earlier.

Something else that was thrown into the mix is that when it was built the area around Zurich was celebrating 100years since the battles with Napolean. A number of areas around Zurich have benches, lookouts etc built around this time. A time to move on etc.

However, none of that explains why it is called Elefantenbach - years before the statue arrived.