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Origin and history

The Maubuée fountain was mentioned for the first time in Charles VI's patent letters in 1392, which attempted to regulate water concessions in Paris. Its name, "Maau buée" (bad drinking or bad laundry), would come from the poor quality of its waters from the Belleville springs. Another hypothesis attributed to Hugues Maubué, a 13th century donor linked to the priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, on whose lands she was.

The original fountain, located at the corner of Saint-Martin and Simon-le-Franc streets, dates from the late 14th century and was fed by the Belleville waterworks. From 1673 she also received water from the pump of the Notre Dame Bridge. The present building, rebuilt in 1733 by Jean Beausire and his son, has a rock bas-relief and symbols of the city of Paris, like a three-mast nave.

Demonstrated in 1930 during the destruction of an unsanitary island (future location of the Pompidou Centre), the fountain was moved behind the church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. Back in 1977 to its current location (Saint Martin Street and Venice Street), it is now classified as a historic monument (1926) but no longer flows. François Villon spoke in his Testament (1461), testifying to its cultural importance from the Middle Ages.

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