Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

Water castle of Riom dans le Puy-de-Dôme

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine urbain
Château d'eau
Puy-de-Dôme

Water castle of Riom

    Place de la Fédération
    63200 Riom
Ownership of the municipality
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Château deau de Riom
Crédit photo : Pymouss - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1829
Launch of hydraulic work
1830
Destruction of a cross
1830-1837
Construction of the monument
1989
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Water tower (cad. not cadastralized; public domain): registration by order of 20 April 1989

Key figures

Guillaume-Thérèse-Antoine Degeorge - Architect Manufacturer of the fountain, student of Percier.
Michel de L'Hospital - Chancellor of France (expected status) Tribute not realized, born in Chaptuzat.
Blaise Pascal - Mathematician and philosopher (expected status) Famous local figure, born in Clermont.
Louis-Charles-Antoine Desaix - General (scheduled) Born in Saint-Hilaire-d'Ayat.
Charles Percier - Architect and mentor Master of Degeorge, neoclassical influence.

Origin and history

The Château d'eau de Riom, built between 1830 and 1837, is an octagonal fountain designed to redistribute the waters of the Goulot spring throughout the city. Ordered as part of urban hydraulic work under the Restoration, it replaces the former fountain of the Lines. The architect Guillaume-Thérèse-Antoine Degeorge, student of Charles Percier, draws the plans, providing a reservoir adorned with eight statues of illustrious Auvergnats, never installed.

The structure consists of a circular basin surrounded by four stone mascarons spitting water, surmounted by a three-level reservoir. The middle level, intended for statues, is crowned with a classical frieze, while the top culminates with two superimposed basins. Together, built of Volvic stone, forms a noisy cascade, activated only during the feasts of Saint-Amable and 14 July.

Ranked a historic monument in 1989, this unfinished fountain symbolizes Riom's 19th century urban ambition. Its location on the Place de la Fédération (ex-place du Marché Neuf) marks the arrival of the waters of Volvic, while paying tribute to local figures such as Blaise Pascal or Michel de L-Hospital, whose missing statues recall the original project.

Historical sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its role in the riomois hydraulic network, as well as its neoclassical style inspired by Parisian fountains. The work of Degeorge, although truncated, remains a testimony of the technical and artistic progress of the period, integrated into the heritage of the city's seven protected fountains.

External links