The fontaine Palatine is a fountain in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 located at 12 rue Garancière, in the 6th arrondissement, near the Luxembourg Palace

Luxembourg Palace

The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...

 and Luxembourg Gardens.

History

The fountain was built by Anne Henriette of Bavaria

Anne Henriette of Bavaria

Anne Henriette of Palatinate-Simmern, in France known as Anne Henriette of Bavaria was a Princess of Palatinate-Simmern by birth and by her marriage in 1663, the Duchess of Enghien and then the Princess of Condé...

 (1648–1723), against the wall of the commons of her residence, as a gift to the people of the neighborhood. She was Princess of Palatinate-Simmern

Palatinate-Simmern

Palatinate-Simmern was one of the collateral lines of the Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach.The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided into four lines after the death of Rupert III in 1410, including the line of Palatinate-Simmern with its capital in Simmern. This line...

 by birth, and by marriage was Princess of Condé, the widow of Henri Jules, Prince of Condé. The fountain's waterworks were probably designed by Jean Beausire

Jean Beausire

Jean Beausire , was an architect, engineer and fountain-maker and the chief of public works in Paris for King Louis XIV of France and King Louis XV of France between 1684 and 1740, and was the architect of all the public fountains constructed in Paris that period. Several of his fountains still...

, the chief of public works and designer of fountains for Louis XIV and Louis XV. When the commons were destroyed and a new building was constructed in 1913, the fountain was preserved and attached to the wall of the new building, in its original location. It was declared an historical monument of France in 1962.

Description

The fountain is a simple niche in the wall the size of a door, with little decoration. Over the niche is a plaque with an inscription in Latin of the dedication of the fountain. Below it is a bronze mascaron of a head of a lion, through which the water flowed.

• The inscription reads, in Latin: :

AQUAM A PRAEFECTO ET AEDILIBUS ACCEPTAM HIC SUIS IMPENSIS, CIVIBUS FLUERE VOLUIT SERENISSIMA PRINCEPS ANNA PALATINA EX BAVARII RELICTA SERENISSIMI PRINCIPI HENRICI JULII BORBONII PRINCIPIS CONDAEI ANNO DOMINI MD.CC.XV

With the agreement of the Prefect and the civic authorities The Serene Princess Anne Palatine de Bavière widow of the Serene Prince Henri-Jules de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, wishes that water will flow, at her expense, for the citizens. The Year of Our Lord 1715.