The curious circular fountain-washtub, known locally as "Le Rond", was probably built by Claude Nicolas Ledoux, an architect working for the Water and Forestry Department of the Champagne Generalitat and the local communities (and future architect to King Louis XVI), when he came to Marac in 1764 to build the "bâtière" bridge over the Suize. On this occasion, the estimate for the bridge was increased by a second estimate for a classic rectangular fountain and drinking trough, which was obviously abandoned in favour of this highly original circular construction, more in keeping with the singular image of its designer.|On a practical level, the curious circular fountain at Marac was originally supplied with water by gravity in its central basin (used as an occasional washhouse surrounded by a paved ring), by a channelled spring that used to rise up from the first houses on the way into the village. An iron hand pump, which was dismantled between 1904 and 1906 but whose sealing points can still be seen, was used to draw water from the central circular basin and send it to metal troughs suspended outside the perimeter wall of the circular fountain, where the animals could drink. Now that both the troughs and the pump have disappeared, it is difficult to understand how this monument worked today.
Fontaine le Rond à Marac
