The Fontaine des Innocents is a monumental public fountain located on the place Joachim-du-Bellay in the Les Halles district in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Originally called the Fountain of the Nymphs, it was constructed between 1547 and 1550 by architect Pierre Lescot and sculptor Jean Goujon in the new style of the French Renaissance. It is the oldest monumental fountain in Paris.
Fontaine des Innocents
Bas-relief of a Nymph and a Triton (now in the Louvre)
Front and side views of Fontaine des Innocents in its original form, ca. 1670
Fontaine des Innocents [reliefs]; Louvre, Paris. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection
A fountain, from the Latin "fons", meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
(Center) Jet d'eau, (Geneva, Switzerland) Clockwise from top right (1) Fontana di Trevi (Rome) (2) Place de la Concorde (Paris) (3) Fountain in the Garden of Versailles (Versailles) (4) The Hundred Fountains, Villa d'Este (Tivoli, Italy) (5) Fuente de los Leones, (The Alhambra, Granada) (6) Fountain in St. Peter's Square (Rome) (7) Samson and the Lion fountain (Peterhof, St. Petersburg, Russia) (8) Dubai Fountain (Dubai)
An Egyptian fountain on the Temple of Dendera
Attic Greek vase from South Italy, about 480 B.C.
Hellenistic fountain head from the Pergamon museum
![Fontaine des Innocents [reliefs]; Louvre, Paris. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Fontaine_des_Innocents_reliefs._Louvre%2C_Paris.jpg/503px-Fontaine_des_Innocents_reliefs._Louvre%2C_Paris.jpg)
