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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Fountain-Reservoir Sainte-Marie is a major architectural and sculptural work in Rouen, inaugurated on October 26, 1879 by Alexandre Barrabé. Designed by architect Édouard Deperthes and sculptor Alexandre Falguière, it was the result of a competition in which Bartholdi also participated. Its initial cost, estimated at 282,000 francs, reflects its artistic and technical ambition. Animal sculptor Victor Peter made the figures of horse and beef, while Alphonse Guilloux carved the children symbolizing the waters of Robec and Aubette. Originally lit with gas, it was electrified in 1919, and its control system was abolished in 1977.

Located on Rue Louis-Ricard and Rue Sainte-Marie, near the Museum of Antiquities, the fountain has undergone several restorations due to the poor quality of the limestone used. The Friends of the Rouennais Monuments financed a rehabilitation in 1914, and a final restoration was carried out in 1983 by Lanfry. Ranked a historic monument in 1995, it remains an essential reservoir for the supply of drinking water in Rouen, while embodying the artistic and technical heritage of the 19th century.

The monument is part of an urban context marked by industrialization and technical progress of the late nineteenth century. Rouen, a dynamic city, saw a proliferation of public infrastructure designed to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. The fountains-reservoirs, like that of Sainte-Marie, play a key role in public hygiene and the beautification of the city, reflecting the municipal ambitions of modernity and prestige.

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