FONTAINE STANISLAS

King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine, Stanislas Leszcynski took the waters at Plombières. During his last visit to the city, he gave a "leaf" to his granddaughters, Mrs Adelaide and Mrs Victoire, daughters of Louis XV, near the Civrac barn. There, he learned that a curious fountain was flowing over this place. He was taken there in a sedan chair and when he saw it, he was delighted and shouted: "It is one of nature's beauties and I want it to bear my name". This source deserved Stanislas' attention; it is remarkable for the site that surrounds it. The rock above it bears 4 inscriptions in honour of Stanislas, including one engraved in 1766, the date of the King's tragic death, and another composed in 1813 by the knight and then Marquis de Boufflers (1738-1815), son of the spiritual Marquise who often came to Plombières alongside the King. On the left, a head is carved on a small rock and reminds us that Berlioz wrote his opera Les Troyens here in 1856 and 1857.