Résumé
Starting from the fact that personal names are much more frequently treated in studies on literary onomastics than place names this paper deals with the different functions toponyms fulfil in literary texts: they contribute essentialy to the constitution of a fictional space and they do this through mental processes in the reader’s brain. Moreover, they are able to create a certain atmosphere by means of their phonosymbolical or semantic values and they may situate the story in a certain geographical or social field. Finally toponyms may be used by the author to represent the passing of time.