Cimetière des Innocents, Paris’ oldest cemetery
The Fontaine des Innocents (Fountain of the Innocents) is located in the centre of Place Joachim du Bellay, near Les Halles.
This square was formerly known as Place du Marché des Innocents (Market Square of the Innocents). It indeed housed a vegetable market established on the site of the Cimetière des Innocents (Cemetery of the Innocents).
This cemetery was created in the 9th century. The oldest cemetery in Paris, it served the Parisian population for centuries. It was attached to the Eglise des Saints-Innocents (Church of the Holy Innocents), a modest chapel built in the 12th century and dedicated to the children killed in Judea on the orders of King Herod.
The cemetery was de-consecrated in 1780 due to overcrowding and pollution problems, as it had become far too small to serve the 22 surrounding parishes.
The bones of two million people were thus transferred to the Catacombes, the underground necropolis of Paris located on the left bank, and the church was demolished in 1788.
Fontaine des Innocents, a French Renaissance masterpiece
The Fontaine des Innocents was created by the architect Pierre Lescot and sculpted by Jean Goujon in 1549, and is considered a masterpiece of French Renaissance architecture.
It originally had three sides and was attached to the Eglise des Saints-Innocents. It was dismantled and moved to its current location in 1860, and a fourth facade, identical to the original three, was added to complete it.
The fountain thus takes the form of a square pavilion surmounted by a dome covered with scale-like metal plates. Water flows from a bronze cauldron and cascades into the superimposed basins at its base.
Each of the four facades is adorned with an arch flanked by two naiads and two Corinthian columns.
The Fountaine des Innocents is the oldest monumental fountain in Paris and has been listed as a historical monument since 1862.
Directions: 1st District – Place Joachim du Bellay
Metro and RER A,B,D : Les Halles-Châtelet on Lines 1, 4, 7
Coordinates: Lat 48.860627 – Long 2.348097
