Place des Quatre-Dauphins

The Place des Quatre-Dauphins features a fountain with four bronze dolphins clustered around a central moss-covered obelisk. It anchors the intersection of the Rue du Quatre-Septembre and the Rue Cardinale, built during the seventeenth century when the Archbishop Mazarin expanded the city to house the local nobility. When the fountain was first installed in sixteen sixty-seven, sculptor Jean-Claude Rambot carved the dolphins to represent the four winds. These dolphins have watched over the quiet neighborhood intersections ever since.