John XXIII Square

Behind the Notre Dame Cathedral is St. John XXIII. At the site of the square, first there was a landfill of construction waste, then, from the XVII century, the residence of the archbishop. However, in 1831, the archbishop’s palace was looted and desecrated by revolutionaries, and later destroyed. Then this wasteland was bought by the Parisian prefect Count Rambuto, who in 1844 laid out a wonderful garden here. Since 1845, the garden has been decorated with the pseudo-Gothic Fountain of the Virgin or the Archbishop's Fountain (la fontaine de la Vierge or la fontaine de l'Archevê ch), designed by architect Alfonso Vigureux. The figure of Our Lady and Child is made by sculptor Louis Merlieu. On the pedestal, where it stands, you can see the figures of the 12 apostles (four on each of the three faces), and in the lowest part of the fountain - the figures of three archangels (from their feet, in fact, water flows). The square itself is named after one of the most popular popes of the XX century - John XXIII, who was the Pope in 1958-1963.