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Origin and history

The Popincourt fountain, also known as the Charity or Pelican fountain, was built in 1808 on Popincourt Street (now 11th arrondissement) under the First Empire. It was one of the fifteen fountains ordered by the Imperial Decree of 1806 to improve the water supply in Paris. His architect, François-Jean Bralle, designed a semicircular building adorned with a relief carved by Augustin Félix Fortin, representing an allegory of Charity as a woman feeding children.

The fountain was destroyed between 1859 and 1860 during Haussmann's work, including the drilling of the boulevard du Prince-Eugène (now Voltaire Boulevard). Only the relief of Charity was preserved thanks to a gift in 1894 by Madame Le Paute. It was incorporated into the façade of 48 Rue de Sévigné (3rd arrondissement) and listed as a historic monument in 1961, before this protection was repealed in 2023. The motif of the pelican, a traditional symbol of Charity, inspired its alternative name.

The relief, now visible in the Marais, illustrates an allegorical scene: a woman draped with antiquity breastfeeds an infant while tending a cup to two other children, with a jar reversed at her feet, recalling her original function. This vestige reflects the urban transformations of Paris under Haussmann and the importance of public fountains as social facilities in the early 19th century.

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