Fontaine de Sainte-Mesme

Sainte-Mesme

The village of Sainte-Mesme, in the Hurepoix region of the Yvelines, takes its name from a local saint, Mesme or Maxima, whose legend is set in the 5th century. She is said to have been the daughter of the Frankish king Dordanus, who gave his name to Dourdan; converted to Christianity without her father's knowledge, she was, according to the story, beheaded on his orders by her own brother Mesmin. At the spot where her head was buried a spring is said to have gushed forth, reputed to cure fevers, and around it the village's cult took shape. The saint's relics, brought back from Rome, were placed in the parish church around 1539, and a pilgrimage was held twice a year from 1539 to 1791; revived in the early 19th century, it died out for good in 1902. The fountain itself is a small Renaissance building, protected as a monument historique by an order of 17 September 1952 and restored in 1962; converted into a communal wash-house in 1948, it lost its original sculpted group in 1964, when it was moved to the church and replaced on the spot by a cast. The place is discreet today and without any staging, but it keeps the trace of one of the oldest spring cults of the southern Yvelines. The account of the martyrdom belongs to medieval hagiographic legend and is not corroborated by any historical source contemporary with the events.

Destination Yvelines — Sources miraculeuses et lieux sacrés ↗

Getting there : Coordinates given at the level of the village (village-level accuracy only). The fountain is at 23 rue Charles Legaigneur (departmental road D116), some fifty metres from the lane climbing towards the church, below it; free access from the street. Sainte-Mesme is 5 km north of Dourdan, in the far south of the department.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound