No. 10 The Wallace Fountains

 I recently read an article about the Wallace Fountains of Paris and realized I had seen some in the past, but knew nothing about them. So I purchased a small book which explains their history and location and looked for them when I was walking about. The history is quite interesting. 

Sir Richard Wallace was an  Englishman who moved to Paris at a young age and became very wealthy when his father  died and left him estates and a large art collection. When the Franco Prussian war broke out in 1870, instead of retreating to one of his country estates,   Richard decided to stay in Paris and see what he could do to help the people. He was appalled at the starvation and lack of drinkable water the war, and civil war which followed created. At that time, the  only water source for the general population was the heavily polluted Seine, and when the cost of a bottle of Seine water exceeded the cost of wine, people started drinking wine as their  main  source of liquid, including  giving it to young children.

Seeing the effect that  the polluted water and alcoholism was having on the people, especially the children, Richard decided he had to do something. So in 1872, he paid for 50 fountains to be installed in Paris along with the cost of connecting the fountains to a clean source of water. He added  another 20 over the next few years and eventually the city of Paris took over responsibility for the fountains. Today,  there are 109 fountains throughout the city, all providing clean drinking water. Most of the fountains stand on the ground, but there are some mounted on the wall. All are made out of cast iron and painted dark green so as to fit in with the landscape. In fact, when looking for them, you can walk right by one and not notice. I was able to locate 12 during my walks around Paris and was quite surprised how many people were filling up their water bottles from the fountains. It is said that some people use the water for cooking. Me, I think I will stay with the bottles of Evian that I buy in the store. 

Interesting note: a restaurant courtyard was built around one fountain, so if you want to locate it, you have  to walk through the restaurant. Supposedly the owners don’t mind.