Fontaine de l'Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés

The Fontaine de l'Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés stands as a white marble obelisk featuring bronze masks that pour water into four basins. Built in eighteen forty-four by Victor Baltard, it sits against the wall of the oldest church in Paris. When the city replaced an earlier, decrepit fountain on the site, they moved the religious history of the neighborhood into the street. The architect included carved medallions of important local figures, though he chose to ignore the local merchants and focus on church history.