Town Hall, Noyon: Overall view, Fountain of the Dauphin

Dauphin Fountain, by Fran\u00E7ois Masson, commemorates the marriage of the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1770.\u000a\u000aBuilt by Mathieu R\u00E9aulme, the building is covered with exuberant carving of animals, real and fantastic. There are nine canopied niches, probably meant to hold the 'brave nine' heroes, a common theme in town halls. Nine heroes of three ages, (pagan, Jewish, Christian): Hector, Alexander and Caesar, Joshua, David and Judah Maccabee, Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon. After a fire in 1552, Pierre Binard rebuilt the building, adding Renaissance and neoclassical details like the five oculi, the firepots (finials) and the semicircular pediment.