Fontaine des Innocents

The Fontaine des Innocents stands as a square, Renaissance-style pavilion featuring elegant nymphs and mythical sea creatures carved in stone. Built between fifteen forty-seven and fifteen fifty, it is the oldest monumental fountain in Paris. Architect Pierre Lescot and sculptor Jean Goujon designed the structure to celebrate the royal entry of King Henry the Second into the city. At the time of its construction, the fountain sat against the wall of the Cimetière des Innocents, a historic graveyard that served as the primary burial site for Paris for centuries.