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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Swan Fountain is an architectural creation in pink sandstone, designed as a hemicycle with portico. It consists of a semi-circular wash basin, a rectangular watering bowl and a central drawer topped by a pediment. The carved swan, an emblematic element, spits water in the basin, illustrating the ingenuity of 19th-century public fountains. Its neoclassical style, marked by columns and a drawing edicle, reflects the aesthetic cannons of the time.

Built in 1828 by the architect Louis Moreau, this fountain met the practical needs of the inhabitants of Montbozon: water supply, laundry and drinking of animals. Its strategic location, on the current rue du Pont, made it a central gathering point in the daily life of the village. The choice of swan as a decorative motif could symbolize the purity of the water or be inspired by a local legend, although the sources do not specify its exact origin.

Ranked a historic monument on December 21, 1977, the Swan Fountain bears witness to the hydraulic and architectural heritage of the Haute-Saône. This ranking recognizes its value both utilitarian and artistic, characteristic of 19th century urban developments in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Today owned by the municipality, it remains a symbol of local stone carving know-how and a vestige of the collective infrastructure of the past.

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