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Origin and history

The Bartholdi fountain, originally designed for Bordeaux under the name of Char triumphal de la Garonne, is the work of sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. In 1857, the latter won a competition for a fountain place des Quinconces in Bordeaux, but the project was abandoned. After the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris, where the fountain was presented, the mayor of Lyon, Antoine Gailleton, decided to acquire it. It was installed in Place des Terreaux in 1892, replacing an existing fountain, and inaugurated under the official name Rivers and springs going to the ocean.

In 1992, the fountain was moved north of the Place des Terreaux during an urban redevelopment, to evoke a natural flow towards the Rhône and the Saône. This displacement is accompanied by a major restoration in 2016-2018, motivated by the corrosion of its metal structure and the damage suffered at public events. The fountain, classified as a historic monument in 1995, was then dismantled, restored in a specialized workshop, and reinaugurated in March 2018.

The fountain, weighing 360 tons, is a technical feat combining an iron frame and a lead skin. It represents Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea, leading a quadrugium of marine horses symbolizing the French rivers. Its hydraulic system, initially powered by the municipal network, was replaced in 1907 by an innovative closed circuit. The work, inspired by the Apollo basin in Versailles, is a classic and baroque combination, with dynamic effects of springing water and spraying.

Made by the foundries Gaget, Gauthier and Cie — the same craftsmen of the Statue of Liberty — the fountain uses goldsmith's techniques. Its wall-to-wall structure and its dimensions (4.85 m high, 15 m in diameter) make it a unique monument. After decades of exposure to weather and popular celebrations, its restoration has preserved its integrity and aesthetics, while modernizing its watering system.

The Lyon project is the result of negotiations between Bartholdi, Mayor Gailleton, and MP Edward Aynard, who oversees the purchase for 100,000 francs. Although disappointed by the price, Bartholdi himself chose the final location, facing the town hall, before the fountain was moved in 1992 for architectural reasons. Today, she sits near the Museum of Fine Arts, where a draft of the Statue of Liberty is also displayed.

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