Fontaine Notre-Dame de la Porte, dite fontaine Notre-Dame d'Entre-les-Portes

Quintin

At the end of rue Notre-Dame, near the basilica, a 15th-century wayside shrine houses in its niche a statue of the Virgin in polychrome stone, surrounded by angels; traces of 15th-century paint survive around the niche. The tympanum, decorated with raking arcading, rests on two small turrets and carries carved hooks and a finial; the crowning feature has lost part of its gable. This fountain comes from the chapel of Notre-Dame d'Entre-les-Portes, built against the turrets of the town's west gate, along the moat, facing the collegiate church. Raised by Geoffroy, sire of Quintin, and Béatrix de Thouars, this chapel was still under construction in 1405; it was, according to InfoBretagne, the object of a pilgrimage, and the fountain, said to be miraculous, stood beneath its altar. Rebuilt in 1708 with its old materials, and then enlarged, the chapel came to cover the fountain, which was thereafter accessible only through a small vent: this is the state that the Mérimée record still describes. Deconsecrated during the Revolution, the chapel was used for meetings of the Société des Amis de la Constitution, was returned to worship while the parish church was being rebuilt, then abandoned and demolished in the early 20th century; the fountain was then moved to its present site. Its cult overlapped with that of the Virgin's girdle kept at the neighbouring collegiate church, and Fontaines de France links to the chapel the distribution of blessed ribbons to expectant mothers. The fountain has been listed as a historic monument since 1913.

Mérimée — Fontaine de Notre-Dame de la Porte (POP) ↗

Getting there : At the end of rue Notre-Dame, a few dozen metres from the basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Délivrance, in the centre of Quintin. The fountain can be seen from the public space (to be checked).

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

Ambient sound