Place Saint Nicolas

Right next to L'Yonne is this small square in the Saint Nicolas district. Many half-timbered houses are in the immediate vicinity.

The skipper's patron had his natural place on the banks of the Yonne river, on the very spot where the port has existed since time immemorial. The oldest charters mention the Port Saint-Nicolas. The fountain of the same name, formerly the Saint-Germain fountain, sprang up in the middle of the square, at the time when the enclosure of the city walls existed, and in the middle of this same square stood a stone cross.We can still see, at the corner of the old house n° 2, the statue of the great bishop of Myre, raised by the brotherhood of Saint-Nicolas and having at his feet a tank filled with small children who serve as his attributes.In 1339, the Book of the Hôtel-Dieu tells us that there was a Maison des Estuves or public baths in front of the Saint-Germain fountain.In 1626, the port of Saint-Nicolas was the scene of a violent tumult caused by the high cost of grain. A lady Noubert, from Dijon, who was driving two boats laden with wheat to Paris, was arrested at Auxerre on July 26 by the populace, who loudly demanded the sale of wheat at the market price. The provost, not knowing how to stop the riot, sanctioned the demands of the inhabitants and had the wheat sold. But Dame Noubert assigned the aldermen of Auxerre to the Parliament of Paris. We do not know the outcome of this case.The fountain supplied the district with drinking water until 1783. In 1909, the stone basin which adorned the square of the large fountains (Charles Surugue square) was installed in this square where it can still be seen.
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