Fontaine Louvois

The Fontaine Louvois is a neoclassical monumental fountain set in the compact Square Louvois on Rue de Richelieu in Paris's Second Arrondissement, just steps from the former main entrance of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Constructed between 1836 and 1839 under King Louis-Philippe during the July Monarchy, it occupies the site of the demolished Comédie-Italienne opera house. Four allegorical female figures by sculptor Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Klagmann personify France's great rivers — the Seine, Loire, Saône, and Garonne — and spill water into a broad stone basin. The surrounding garden square, shaded by mature trees and lined with wooden benches, offers a quietly tucked-away pause from the bustle of central Paris.