The Fontaine des Innocents is a monumental public fountain located on the place Joachim-du-Bellay in the Les Halles district in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Originally called the Fountain of the Nymphs, it was constructed between 1547 and 1550 by architect Pierre Lescot and sculptor Jean Goujon in the new style of the French Renaissance. It is the oldest monumental fountain in Paris.
The fountain was commissioned as part of the decoration of the city to commemorate the solemn royal entry of King Henry II into Paris in 1549. Artists were commissioned to construct elaborate monuments, mostly temporary, along his route, from the Port Saint-Denis to the Palais de la Cité, passing by le Châtelet, the Pont Notre-Dame and the Cathedral. The fountain was placed on the site of an earlier fountain dating to the reign of Philip II of France, against the wall of the Saints Innocents Cemetery, at the corner of rue Saint Denis (where the King's procession passed) and rue aux Fers (today's rue Berger), with two façades on one street, one façade on the other. It was to serve as a fountain as well as a grand reviewing stand for local notables; it resembled the walls of a large residence, with water taps along the street at the street level, and a stairway to the loggia on the upper level, where officials stood on the balcony to greet the King. Its original name was the Fountain of the Nymphs.
Monday | Open 24 hours |
Tuesday | Open 24 hours |
Wednesday | Open 24 hours |
Thursday | Open 24 hours |
Friday | Open 24 hours |
Saturday | Open 24 hours |
Sunday | Open 24 hours |
Alvaro Morena | Jun 6, 2018
Nice place, well placed near shopping center "les Halles"
Gerard Buhl | May 21, 2018
this beautiful fountain sits on the ancient cemetery "of the innocents" where, for centuries, dead bodies of unidentified people were thrown in a muddy yard becoming, later, a dark and unsafe cemetery ! today things have changed ! the fountain is part of the big commercial "Halles" area and people sitn on its steps when the sun shines on it !
Martin Jílek | Apr 30, 2018
The building itself is nice, but a fountain without water is just not a fountain :-) The surroundings are beautiful, like all of Paris, but here it is seen that some reconstruction is about to be done. This was the biggest disappointment from all of the places what I visited in Paris.
Mohammad Alkaysi | May 10, 2018
Nice, calm square next to the new mall in les halles
Dhruv Kumar | Feb 27, 2018
Great Christmas market, one of the 3 in Paris that I visited in December 2017. Small and cozy, with lots of options to buy food and other items.
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