Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Pot-de-Fer fountain, often confused with the Mouffetard fountain, is located at 60 rue Mouffetard, at the corner of the rue du Pot-de-Fer, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. Created in 1624 and restored in 1671, it is attributed to Michel Noblet (1605-1677), a collaborator of Michel Villedo. Originally, it supplied water to the village of Saint-Médard, then to the Saint-Marceau district after its annexation to Paris in 1724. Unlike many Parisian monuments, it has escaped Haussmannian transformations, keeping its original appearance.

The fountain is closely linked to the Medici water supply, which supplied Paris with water. Initially fed by the waters of the Rungis waterworks, it was represented in 1887 by Jules-Adolphe Chauvet and photographed in 1901 by Eugene Atget under the name of "Pot-de-fer Saint-Marcel fountain". It was listed as a historical monument in 1925, and then incorporated into a site registered in 1975. Owned by the city of Paris, it is distinguished by its architectural simplicity and its preserved history.

A sober style, the fountain has a double facade with a rounded angle, topped by a terrace. Its two sides, decorated with flat windows, are styled with a cornice decorated with shells, waves and volutes. A projecting frame, probably intended for a missing inscription, adorns the angular part. Until 2018, a single tap, located on Mouffetard Street, left a water fillet, now interrupted. Its design, unchanged since its creation, makes it a rare testimony to the Parisian urban planning of Ancien Régime.

The Pot-de-Fer fountain illustrates the importance of public water points in pre-haussmannian Paris. Before the development of modern networks, these fountains played a central role in everyday life, providing an essential resource for the inhabitants of popular neighbourhoods such as Saint-Marceau. Their preservation, like that of this monument, offers an overview of the hydraulic infrastructures that marked the history of the city.

External links