The ''Fontaine Bartholdi'' is a fountain sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and realised in 1889 by Gaget & Gautier. It was erected at the

Place des Terreaux The Place des Terreaux is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France, on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement. It borders both the Hôtel de Ville and ...

, in the 1st arrondissement of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, in September 1892.

History

On 20 April 1857, the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

city council decided to hold a competition to create a fountain for Place Quinconces. Frédéric Bartholdi, then aged 23, won the contest. However, the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

decided not to carry out his project. After Bartholdi had made the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

in New York in 1886, the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Bordeaux contacted him, but his new project was canceled after much hesitation. It was finally achieved in 1888, but it was deemed as too expensive and therefore was sold to Lyon. It was unveiled as part of the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...

. The fountain was eventually put at the Place des Terreaux and is currently still there. The fountain depicts France as a female (Marianne) seated on a chariot controlling the four great rivers of France,La

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

, la

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, le

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, la

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

; the four rivers of France, a familiar iconological trope, are also represented, by reclining gods and goddesses, in the ''parterre d'eau'' on the

gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover som ...

. represented by wildly rearing and plunging horses, highly individualized but symmetrically arranged, with bridles and reins of water weeds. The fountain weighs 21 tons and is made of lead supported by a frame of iron and was presented at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. It has been classified as

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

since 29 September 1995. 1892: First inauguration on Place des Terreaux 1995: "Historic monument" classification after its relocation opposite the Fine Arts Museum June 2016: start of the restoration work March 2018: inauguration of the restored, re-watered and lit fountain Total budget for the restoration: 3.58 million euros (including a one million euro contribution from the State)

Restoration

The fountain was removed temporarily in 2015 for restoration and was returned in December 2017,La Fontaine Bartholdi
Lyon-france.com for a total budget of 2 750 000 euros. The structure was rusted, and the lead statue warped and fractured.

Gallery

File:Fontaine Bartholdi2.jpg File:Fontaine de Bartholdi Lyon 250709 08.jpg File:Fontaine Bartholdi3.jpg File:Fontaine Bartholdi4.jpg File:Bartholdi Fontaine des Terreaux Lyon fondflou.jpg File:Fontaine-bartholdi-restauree.jpg, The fountain, restored after 11 months of work

References

External links

''Fontaine Bartholdi''
at Lyon's city webpage Fountains in France Sculptures in France Buildings and structures in Lyon 1st arrondissement of Lyon Lead sculptures Monuments and memorials in France 1889 sculptures Tourist attractions in Lyon Monuments historiques of Lyon Sculptures by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Horses in art Exposition Universelle (1889) World's fair sculptures {{France-sculpture-stub

History

Restoration

Gallery

See also

References

External links