Terrail Fountain

The Terrail fountain, in Clermont-Ferrand

The Terrail fountain is a pretty fountain of Volvic stone of the end of the seventeenth century, on the medieval square of the same name. The Clermont-Ferrand audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this inscribed monument, that once adorned one of the entrance gates of the city, and the place du Terrail, a former ceramics market whose name recalls the "terraille" that was sold there.

History

Inscribed in the Historic Monuments since 1987, the Terrail fountain dates from the end of the seventeenth century. Located on the square of the same name, it once adorned one of the entrance gates of the city in the Middle Ages. A first version had been built at the beginning of the same century, but it worked so badly that the Clermontois mischievously nicknamed it the fountain that "does not draw". It is thus the current fountain that replaced it from 1684, built on the same model, in Volvic stone. The place du Terrail, for its part, bears this name since the medieval era: it then sheltered a ceramics market, and the word "terraille" designated precisely this earthenware pottery. Still frequented, the square today highlights the fine Clermont architecture. Not far, in the rue Blaise Pascal, stands a private mansion of Volvic stone built between 1760 and 1769 for Charles-Antoine de Chazerat, last intendant of Auvergne before the Revolution.

What to see

Here you admire a pretty fountain of Volvic stone of the end of the seventeenth century, inscribed in the Historic Monuments, that once adorned an entrance gate of the city; it replaced in 1684 a first failing fountain nicknamed the one that "does not draw", on a medieval square, a former ceramics market. The Terrail fountain highlights the Clermont architecture. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Terrail fountain stands on the place du Terrail, in the old centre of Clermont-Ferrand, reachable on foot. It is a monument in free access in the public space, that you discover during a walk in the old centre.

Where does the name of the place du Terrail come from in Clermont-Ferrand?

It goes back to the medieval era, when the square sheltered a ceramics market: the word "terraille" then designated this earthenware pottery. The square was near one of the entrance gates of the city, that the Terrail fountain adorned, dated from the end of the seventeenth century and inscribed in the Historic Monuments.

Where is the Terrail fountain in Clermont-Ferrand?

On the place du Terrail, in the old centre of Clermont-Ferrand, in France.