Fountains of Concorde are the two fountains on the Place de la Concorde in Paris's 8th arrondissement. Located on either side of the Concorde obelisk, they are the Fontaine des Mers to the south (Seine river side) and the Fontaine des Fleuves to the north (Royale Street side). The obelisk was inaugurated in 1836, and the fountains in 1840.
Renovating the Place de la Concorde
It was Louis-Philippe I who decided to erect the Luxor obelisk on Place de la Concorde, where "it will serve as a reminder of no political event". The operation, a true technical feat, was carried out on October 25, 1836, under the direction of naval engineer Apollinaire Lebas, in the presence of over 200,000 people.
Between 1836 and 1846, the square was transformed by architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, who retained the principle imagined by Gabriel.
The addition of 2 monumental Fountains of Concorde
He added two monumental fountains - the Fontaine des Mers and the Fontaine des Fleuves - on either side of the obelisk, and surrounded the square with lampposts and rostral columns. The square is thus a celebration of French naval engineering, in reference to the presence of the Ministry of the Navy in one of the two hotels built by Gabriel. The two fountains were inaugurated on May 1, 1840 by Prefect Rambuteau.
The technical prowess of the Fountains of Concorde
In 1837, Jacques Ignace Hittorff, in charge of the major transformation of the Place de la Concorde, ordered fountains from the Muel foundry in Tusey, Meuse. They were to have been made by the Parisian foundryman Calla, but it was the Tusey foundry in Vaucouleurs that won the contract. The most symbolic parts of the cast iron were gilded.
A. Guettier, Ingénieur des Arts et Métiers(1) , who was in charge of the Muel workshops at the time, carefully noted in his records the techniques used, the molding methods, the core-making and casting stages, as well as the nature of the sands and cast irons employed. This precious document, which has survived to the present day, is a source of inspiration for the most recent restorations. The entire fountain weighs around 50 tonnes. A fine piece of work.
(1) The Ecole des Ingénieurs Arts et Métiers is a grande école that still exists today under the name of Ecole Nationle Supérieure des Arts et Métiers (ENSAM). It was founded in 1780, 14 years before the Ecole Polytechnique, by the Duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, to educate the wards of his cavalry regiment, which later became the 11th Dragoons. Curiously, some 100 m away, at 9 rue Royale, the Duc de la Rochefoucauld died on March 27, 1828. His burial was the subject of both painful and incredible events.
Fountains of Concorde celebrating water and Paris
The two 3 m-high fountains celebrate river navigation (the fountain on the north side facing Rue Royale) and maritime navigation (the fountain on the south side facing the Seine). They also evoke the emblem of the City of Paris, which features a nave (a boat) sailing in the wind, floating on water (the Seine). It is surmounted by a band (the chief of the shield) studded with golden fleurs-de-lis. The motto is "Fluctua nec mergitur" (beaten by the waves but not sinking).
- the river fountain features seated figures representing the Rhine and Rhone rivers, products from the watered regions (grapes, wheat, fruit, flowers), statues of river navigation, agriculture and industry.
- the maritime fountain features six colossal figures representing the Ocean, the Mediterranean, fish, coral, pearls and shells. Swans mingle with three genies symbolizing Maritime Navigation, Commerce and Astronomy.
For the artistic creation of the statues adorning these fountains, architect Hittorff called on a number of artists: Jean-François-Théodore Gechter, Honoré-Jean-Aristide Husson, François Lanno, Nicolas Brion, Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay, Antoine Desboeufs, Jean-Jacques Feuchère, Antonin-Marie Moine, Jean-Jacques Elshoecht (known as Carle Elshoecht) and Louis-Parfait Merlieux.
Other decorations of the Place de la Concorde contemporary of the fountains
Rostral columns (large triumphal columns to commemorate naval victories or victorious sea campaigns), 9.60 m high, bear ship's prows that were adapted to gas lighting. The same choice of foundry was used for the rostral columns, also in cast iron and made at the same Lorraine foundry.
In addition, eight female statues stand on small pavilions known as guérites de Gabriel. They represent eight French cities. Brest and Rouen by Jean-Pierre Cortot (1897-1833), Lille and Strasbourg by James Pradier (1790- 1852), Lyon and Marseille by Louis Petitot (1760-1840) and Bordeaux and Nantes by Louis-Denis Caillouette (1790-1868). The Strasbourg fountain was draped in black from 1871, when Alsace-Lorraine became part of Germany.
Restorations of the Place de la Concorde fountains
Initially, the idea of cast-iron fountains was terribly modern, and the difficult execution was nonetheless successfully completed.
Their maintenance was more problematic. Victims of rust from the very first winter, the fountains on the Place de la Concorde underwent numerous restoration campaigns and frequent repainting. The first copper plating was carried out in 1841, followed by a second in 1861. Deteriorated during the events of the Commune in 1871, major renovations were carried out on the Fountain of the Seas, and to a lesser extent on the Fountain of the Rivers. Over time, repairs using metal plates and copper foil were gradually worn away by the natural oxidation of cast iron, contributing to the uncontrolled ageing of the fountain.
The major restoration project of 1999-2000 and beyond
To restore the fountains in Place de la Concorde to their former glory, a major restoration project was recently undertaken. Voted for in 1998, it followed the architectural and technical project drawn up by Etienne Poncelet, chief architect of historic monuments. The project ran from February 1999 to March 2000. Entrusted to the Oudry workshops, the restoration involved all the statuary, cast-iron basins and statues covered in hammered copper leaf, with the exception of the statues in the basins, which had been in bronze since 1932. The technical virtuosity and creativity of the work have led to the registration of new patents. The Fountain of the Seas, the most severely damaged, has received special attention.
For each fountain, a new stainless steel structure was designed. The cast-iron elements were restored wherever possible or reconstituted by casting before undergoing a series of treatments. The restored water effects were enhanced by modernized lighting.
In 2017, a new project extended the beauty of the Place de la Concorde fountains on a permanent basis.
More recently, in 2022, the restoration work involved tinting and applying a protective wax coating to the ornamentation (gilding and bronze), as well as waterproofing the basins and basins before they were put back into service.
The 2024 Olympic Games and the Place de la Concorde
The 3×3 basketball, breakdance, BMX freestyle and skateboarding events will take place on the Place de la Concorde. It will also host the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
Indeed, the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games is scheduled for the evening of August 28, 2024.
That evening, to welcome the arrival of the 4,400 para-athletes from 184 delegations, no fewer than 35,000 people will be able to take their seats in the temporary grandstands set up on either side of the site, while 30,000 people should be able to set up - free of charge - on the lower part of the Champs-Élysées.
Films shot in or near fountains of la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde appears in many films. In particular, the fountains are used in the following films:
1951 : Un Américain à Paris, by Vincente Minnelli (part of the final dance scenes is shot in a reproduction of one of the two fountains, the film having been made in the studio)
1961 : L'Amant de cinq jours by Philippe de Broca
1971 : Les Palmiers du Metropolitan by Jean-Claude Youri with Linda Thorson and Maurice
2011 : Luke Shepard's Parisian timelapse Le Flâneur [archive] includes a sequence on the maritime fountain.
2012 : LOL USA, by Lisa Azuelos
2013 : Des gens qui s'embrassent; scene of the kiss exchanged by Lou de Laâge and Max Boublil.
Music video shot near the fountains of la Concorde
1981: the music video for the song Pour le plaisir, performed by Herbert Léonard, with lyrics by Julien Lepers, was shot on Place de la Concorde. The obelisk and details of one of the two fountains can be seen.
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