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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The small fountain of Belfort is a public fountain erected in 1617, probably at the site of an old well. Its wooden walls were initially replaced by stone in 1686, and the structure was completely redesigned in 1763 to adopt a hexagonal basin. The water originated from a pond located 1.5 km away, illustrating the techniques of the time.

Ranked a historical monument in 1908, the fountain was dismantled in 1932 due to its degradation and preserved in the Museum of Art and History of Belfort. A faithful replica was rebuilt between 1948 and 1951 by the sculptor Eugène Traut, using the same sandstone of Niderviller as during the restoration of 1763. The central column, decorated with symbolic heads, sirens and coat of arms of Belfort, rests on a rectangular base.

The octagonal basin, 3.5 metres wide and 80 cm high, bears the engraved dates of 1617 (construction) and 1763 (restoration). After its reconstruction, the fountain was replaced at its original location, Place de la Petite Fontaine, on the edge of the Grand Rue. Today, it remains an architectural testimony of the urban developments of Burgundy-Franche-Comté in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

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