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LYONS (Fr. Lyon)

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 176 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LYONS (Fr. See also:Lyon) , a See also:city of eastern See also:France, See also:capital of the See also:department of See also:Rhone, 315 M. S.S.E. of See also:Paris and 218 m. N. by W. of See also:Marseilles on the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop. (1906) See also:town, 430,186; See also:commune, 472,114. Lyons, which in France is second only to Paris in commercial and military importance, is situated at the confluence of the Rhone and the See also:Saone at an See also:altitude of 540 to See also:I000 ft. above See also:sea-level. The See also:rivers, both flowing See also:south, are separated on the See also:north by the See also:bill on which lies the populous working See also:quarter of Croix-Rousse, then by the narrow See also:tongue ofland ending in the Perrache Quarter. The See also:peninsula thus formed is over 3 M. See also:long and from 65o to loco yds. broad. It is traversed lengthwise by the finest streets of the city, the See also:rue de la Republique, the rue de 1'H6tel de Ville, and the rue See also:Victor See also:Hugo. Where it enters Lyons the Saone has on its right the See also:faubourg of Vaise and on its See also:left that of Serin, whence the ascent is made to the See also:top of the See also:hill of Croix-Rousse. Farther on, its right See also:bank is bordered by the scarped heights of Fourviere, St Irenee, Ste See also:Foy, and St Just, leaving See also:room only for the quays and one or two narrow streets; this is the See also:oldest See also:part of the city.

The See also:

river sweeps in a semicircle around this See also:eminence (410 ft. above it), which is occupied by convents, hospitals and seminaries, and has at its See also:summit the famous See also:church of Notre-See also:Dame de Fourviere, the resort of many thousands of pilgrims annually. On the peninsula between the rivers, at the See also:foot of the hill of Croix-Rousse, are the See also:principal quarters of the town : the Terreaux, containing the hotel de ville, and the See also:chief commercial establishments; the wealthy residential quarter, centring See also:round the See also:Place See also:Bellecour, one of the finest squares in France; and the Perrache. The Rhone and Saone formerly met on the site of this quarter, till, in the 18th See also:century, the sculptor Perrache reclaimed it; on the peninsula thus formed stands the principal railway station, the Gare de Perrache with the Cours du Midi, the most extensive See also:promenade in Lyons, stretching in front of it. Here, too, are the docks of the Saone, factories, the See also:arsenal, See also:gas-See also:works and prisons. The Rhone, less confined than the Saone, flows swiftly in a wide channel, broken when the See also:water is See also:low in See also:spring by pebbly islets. On the right See also:hand it skirts first St Clair, sloping upwards to Croix-Rousse, and then the districts of Terreaux, Bellecour and Perrache; on the left it has a low-lying See also:plain, occupied by the See also:Pare de la The d'Or and the quarters of Brotteaux and Guillotiere. The See also:park, together with its See also:lake, comprises some 285 acres, and contains a zoological collection, botanical and pharmaceutical gardens, and the finest greenhouses in France, with unique collections of See also:orchids, See also:palm-trees and Cycadaceae. It is defended from the Rhone by the Quai de la The d'Or, while on the See also:east the railway See also:line to See also:Geneva separates it from the See also:race-course. Brotteaux is a See also:modern residential quarter. Guillotiere to the south consists largely of workmen's dwellings, bordering wide, See also:airy thoroughfares. To the east extend the manufacturing suburbs of Villeurbanne and Montchat. The See also:population, displaced by the demolition of the lofty old houses and the widening of the streets on the peninsula, migrates to the left bank of the Rhone, the See also:extension of the city into the plain of See also:Dauphine being unhindered.

The Rhone and the Saone are bordered by See also:

fine quays and crossed by 24 See also:bridges—11 over the Rhone, 12 over the Saone, and 1 at the confluence. Of these the See also:Pont du See also:Change over the Saone and the Pont de la Guillotiere over the Rhone have replaced See also:medieval bridges, the latter of the two preserving a portion of the old structure. Of the See also:ancient buildings Notre-Dame de Fourviere is the most celebrated. The name originally applied to a small See also:chapel built in the 9th century on the site of the old See also:forum (forum Public vetus) from which it takes its name. It has been often Buildings. rebuilt, the chief feature being a modern Romanesque See also:tower surmounted by a See also:cupola and statue of the Virgin. In 1872 a See also:basilica was begun at its See also:side in token of the gratitude of the city for having escaped occupation by the See also:German troops. The See also:building, finished in 1894, consists of a See also:nave without aisles flanked at each exterior corner by a See also:turret and terminating in an See also:apse. The See also:facade, the See also:lower See also:half of which is a lofty See also:portico supported on four See also:granite columns, is richly decorated on its upper half with statuary and See also:sculpture. See also:Marble and See also:mosaic have been lavishly used in the ornamentation of the interior and of the See also:crypt. Round the apse runs a See also:gallery from which, according to an old See also:custom, a See also:benediction is pronounced upon the town annually on the 8th of See also:September. From this gallery a magnificent view of the city and the surrounding See also:country can be obtained. At the foot of the hill of Fourviere rises the See also:cathedral of St See also:Jean, one of the finest examples of See also:early See also:Gothic See also:architecture in France.

Begun in the 12th century, to the end of which the See also:

transept and See also:choir belong, it was not finished till the 15th century, the gable and flanking towers of the See also:west front being completed in 1480. A triple portal surmounted by a line of arcades and a See also:rose window gives entrance to the church. Two additional towers, that to the north containing one of the largest bells in France, rise at the extremities of the transept. The nave and choir contain fine stained See also:glass of the 13th and 14th centuries as well as See also:good modern glass. The chapel of St See also:Louis or of See also:Bourbon, to the right of the nave, is a masterpiece of Flamboyant Gothic. To the right and left of the See also:altar stand two crosses preserved since the See also:council of 1274 as a See also:symbol of the See also:union then agreed upon between the See also:Greek and Latin churches. Adjoining St Jean is the ancient Manecanterie or singers' See also:house, much mutilated and frequently restored, but still preserving graceful Romanesque arcades along its front. St See also:Martin d'Ainay, on the peninsula, is the oldest church in Lyons, dating from the beginning of the 6th century and subsequently attached to a See also:Benedictine See also:abbey. It was rebuilt in the loth and 11th centuries and restored in modern times, and is composed of a nave with four aisles, a transept and choir terminating in three semicircular apses ornamented with paintings by Hippolyte See also:Flandrin, a native of Lyons. The church is surmounted by two towers, one in the See also:middle of the west front, the other at the See also:crossing; the four columns supporting the latter are said to have come from an altar to See also:Augustus. A mosaic of the 12th century, a high altar decorated with mosaic See also:work and a beautifully carved See also:confessional are among the works of See also:art in the interior. St Nizier, in the See also:heart of the city, was the first cathedral of Lyons; and the crypt in which St Pothinus officiated still exists.

The See also:

present church is a Gothic edifice of the 15th century, with the exception of the See also:porch, constructed by Philibert See also:Delorme, a native of Lyons, in the 16th century. The Church of St See also:Paul (12th and 15th centuries), situated on the right bank of the Saone, pre-serves an octagonal central tower and other portions of Romanesque architecture; that of St Bonaventure, originally a chapel of the See also:Cordeliers, was rebuilt in the 15th and 19th centuries. With the exception of the imposing prefecture, the vast buildings of the faculties, which are in the Guillotiere quarter, and the See also:law See also:court, the See also:colonnade of which overlooks the Saone from its right bank, the chief See also:civil buildings are in the vicinity of the Place See also:des Terreaux. The east side of this square (so called from the terreaux or See also:earth with which the See also:canal formerly connecting the Rhone and the Saone hereabouts was filled) is formed by the hotel de ville (17th century), the east facade of which, towards the See also:Grand See also:Theatre, is the more pleasing. The south side of the square is occupied by the Palais des Arts, built in the 17th century as a Benedictine See also:convent and now accommodating the school of fine arts, the museums of See also:painting and sculpture, See also:archaeology and natural See also:history, and the library of See also:science, arts and See also:industry. The museums are second in importance only to those of Paris. The collection of antiquities, See also:rich in Gallo-See also:Roman See also:inscriptions, contains the See also:bronze tablets discovered in 1528, on which is engraved a portion of a speech delivered in A.D. 48, by the See also:emperor See also:Claudius, advocating the See also:admission of citizens •of Gallia Comata to the Roman See also:senate. The " See also:Ascension," a masterpiece of See also:Perugino, is the chief treasure of the art collection, in which are works by nearly all the See also:great masters. A See also:special gallery contains the works of artists of Lyons, among whom are numbered See also:Antoine Berjon, See also:Meissonier, Paul Chenavard, Puvis de Chavannes. In the Rue de la Republique, between the Place de la See also:Bourse and the Place des Cordeliers, each of which contains one of its highly ornamented fronts, stands the Palais du See also:Commerce et de la Bourse, the finest of the modern buildings of Lyons. The Bourse (See also:exchange) has its offices on the ground See also:floor round the central glass-roofed See also:hall; the upper storeys accommodate the commercial tribunal, the council of See also:trade See also:arbitration, the chamber of commerce and the Musee historique des Tissus, in which the history of the See also:weaving industry is illustrated by nearly 400,000 examples.

In the buildings of the lycee on the right bank of the Rhone are the municipal library and a collection of globes, among them the great terrestrial globe made at Lyons in 1701, indicating the great See also:

African lakes. The Hotel Dieu, instituted according to tradition in the beginning of the 6th century by See also:King See also:Childebert, is still one of the chief charitable establishments in the city. The present building See also:dates from the 18th century; its facade, fronting the west See also:quay of the Rhone for over l000 ft., was begun according to the designs of Soufflot, architect of the See also:Pantheon at Paris. The See also:Hospice de la Charite and the military See also:hospital are on the same bank slightly farther down stream. The Hospice de l'Antiquaille, at Fourviere, occupies the site of the See also:palace of the praetorian prefects, in which Germanicus, Claudius and See also:Caracalla were See also:born. Each of these hospitals contains more than moo beds. Lyons has many other benevolent institutions, and is also the centre of the operations of the Societe de la See also:Propagation de la Foi. The chief monuments are the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. in the Place Bellecour, the monuments of See also:President See also:Carnot, See also:Marshal See also:Suchet, the physicist See also:Andre-See also:Marie See also:Ampere, and those in See also:honour of the See also:Republic and in memory of the citizens of the department who See also:fell in the See also:war of 1870-71. The most 'See also:note-worthy See also:fountain is that in the Place des Terreaux with the leaden See also:group by Bartholdi representing the rivers on their way to the ocean. There are Roman remains—See also:baths, tombs and the See also:relics of a theatre—in the St Just quarter on the right bank of the Saone. Three ancient aqueducts on the Fourviere level, from Montromant, Mont d'Or and Mont Pilat, can still be traced. Magnificent remains of the latter work may be seen at St Irenee and Chaponost.

Traces also exist along the Rhone of a subterranean canal conveying the water of the river to a naumachia (lake for mimic sea-fights). See also:

Agrippa made Lyons the starting-point of the principal Roman roads throughout See also:Gaul; and it remains an important centre in the See also:general See also:system of communication owing to its position on the natural See also:highway from north to south-eastern France. The Saone above the town and the Rhone below have large See also:barge and steamboat See also:traffic. The See also:main line of the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee railway runs first through the station at Vaise, on the right bank of the Saone, and thence to that of Perrache, the chief station in the city. The line next in importance, that to Geneva, has its station in the Brotteaux quarter, and the line of the eastern Lyonnais to St Genix d'Aoste has a See also:terminus at Guillotiere; both these lines See also:link up with the Paris-Lyon main line. The railway to See also:Montbrison starts from the terminus of St Paul in Fourviere and that to Bourg, Trevoux and the See also:Dombes region from the station of Croix-Rousse. A less important line to Vaugneray and Mornant has a terminus at St Just. Besides the extensive system of See also:street tramways, See also:cable tramways (ficelles) run to the summits of the eminences cf Croix-Rousse, Fourviere and St Just. Lyons is, next to Paris, the principal fortress of the interior of France, and, like the capital, possesses a military See also:governor. The immediate See also:protection of the city is provided for on the east side by a modern See also:enceinte, of See also:simple trace, in the plain (subsidiary to this is a group of fairly modern detached forts forming an advanced position at the See also:village of Bron), and on the west by a line of detached forts, not of See also:recent See also:design, along the high ground on the right bank of the Saone. Some older forts and a portion of the old enceinte are still kept up in the city itself, and two of these forts, Montessuy and Caluire, situated on the peninsula, serve with their annexes to connect the See also:northern extremities of the two lines above mentioned. The main line of See also:defence is as usual the See also:outer fort-See also:ring, the perimeter of which is more than 4o m., and the mean distance from the centre of the city 62 m.

This naturally divides into four sections. In Defence. the eastern plain, well in advance of the enceinte, eight principal sites have been fortified, Feyzin, Corbas, St See also:

Priest, Genas, Azieu, Meyzieux, Decines and Chaurant. These See also:form a semicircle from the lower to the upper reaches of the Rhone. The northern (or north eastern) See also:section, between the Rhone and the Saone, has fort ron and Vancia as its principal defences; these and theigiary batteries derive some additional support from the forts Montessuy and Caluire mentioned above. On the north-west side there is a strong group of works disposed like a See also:redan, of which the salient, fort See also:Verdun and annexes, is on the high See also:plateau of Mont d'Or pointing northward, and the faces, represented by forts Freta and Paillet, are lower down on the spurs of the See also:ridge, facing north-east and north-west respectively. The south-western section comprises three principal See also:groups, Bruisson, COte-Lorette and Montcorin-Champvillard, the last-named crossing its See also:fire over the Lower Rhone with Fort Feyzin. Lastly a connecting See also:battery was built near Chapoly in 1895 to See also:close the See also:gap between the north-western and south-western sections and to command the westward approaches by the valley of Charbonnieres. Lyons is the headquarters of the XIV. See also:army-See also:corps, the seat of an See also:archbishop who holds the See also:title of See also:primate of the Gauls and also that of archbishop of See also:Vienne, and of a See also:prefect, a court of See also:appeal, a court of assizes, tribunals of commerce and of first instance, and of two boards of trade arbitration (conseils de prud'hommes). It is the centre of an acadimie (educational See also:division) and has a university with faculties of law, letters, science and See also:medicine and See also:pharmacy. There are also See also:Catholic faculties (facultes libres) of law, See also:theology, science and letters, three lycees, training colleges for teachers and numerous See also:minor educational establishments. There are besides many special See also:schools at Lyons, the more important being the school of fine arts which was founded in the 18th century to See also:train competent designers for the textile manufactures, but has also done much for painting and sculpture; an army medical school, schools of See also:drawing, See also:agriculture, See also:music, commerce (ecole superieure de commerce), weaving, tanning, See also:watch-making and applied See also:chemistry, and the ecoles La Martiniere for See also:free instruction in science- and art as applied to industry. The veterinary school, instituted in 1761, was the first of its See also:kind in See also:Europe; its laboratory for the study of See also:comparative See also:physiology is admirably equipped.

Besides the Academie des Sciences, Belles Lettres et Arts (founded in 17o0), Lyons possesses See also:

societies of agriculture, natural history, See also:geography, See also:horticulture, &c. Its trade in See also:silk and silk goods has formed the basis of the prosperity of Lyons for several centuries. Derived from See also:Italy, this industry Industry rapidly See also:developed, thanks to the See also:monopoly granted to the and trade . city in 145o by See also:Charles VII. and to the patronage of See also:Francis I., See also:Henry II. and Henry IV. From See also:time to time new kinds of fabrics were invented—silk stuffs woofed with See also:wool or with See also:gold and See also:silver threads, shawls, watered silks, poplins, velvets, satinades, moires, &c. In the beginning of the 19th century J. M. See also:Jacquard introduced his famous See also:loom by which a single work-See also:man was enabled to produce elaborate fabrics as easily as the plainest See also:web, and by changing the "cartoons " to make the most different textures on the same looms. In the 17th century the silk manufacture employed at Lyons, 9000 to 12,000 looms. After the revocation of the See also:edict of See also:Nantes the number sank to 3000 or 4000; but after the Reign of Terror was past it rose again about 1801 to 12,000. Towards the middle of the 19th century the weaving See also:branch of the industry began to See also:desert Lyons for the surrounding districts. The city remains the business centre for the trade and carries on See also:dyeing, See also:printing and other See also:accessory processes. Lyons disputes with See also:Milan the position of the leading silk See also:market of Europe.

In 1905 the special See also:

office (la See also:Condition des soles) which determines the See also:weight of the silk examined over 4700 tons of silk. France furnished barely one-tenth of this quantity, two-thirds came from See also:China and See also:Japan, the See also:rest from Italy and the See also:Levant. The traders of Lyons re-export seven-twelfths of these silks, the See also:industries of the town employing the See also:remainder. An almost equal quantity of See also:cotton, wool and See also:waste-silk threads is mixed with the silk. A few thousand hand-looms are still worked in the town, more especially producing the richest materials, 5o,000 or 55,000 in the surrounding districts, and some 33,000 See also:machine looms in the suburbs and neighbouring departments. Allied industries such as dyeing, See also:finishing and printing, employ 12,000 workers. Altogether 360,000 workpeople depend upon the silk industry. In 1905 the See also:total value of the manufacture was £15,710,000, the chief items being pure silk textures (plain) £3,336,000; textures of silk mixed with other materials £3,180,000; silk and foulards £1,152,000; muslins £3,800,000, this product having increased from £100,000 in 1894. Speaking roughly the raw material represents half the value, and the value of the labour the remaining half. About 30% of the silk goods of Lyons finds a market in France. Great See also:Britain imported them to the value of over £6,000,000, and the See also:United States to the value of over £1,600,000, notwithstanding the heavy See also:duty. The dyeing industry and the manufacture of chemicals have both developed considerably to meet the requirements of the silk trade.

Large quantities of See also:

mineral and See also:vegetable colouring matters are produced and there is besides a large output of See also:glue, gelatine, superphosphates and See also:phosphorus, all made from bones and hides, of picric, tartaric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, sulphates of See also:iron and See also:copper, and pharmaceutical and other chemical products. Lyons does a large trade in metals, iron, See also:steel and copper, and utilizes them in the manufacture of iron 'buildings, framework, bridges, machinery, railway material, scales, See also:metal cables, pins and needles, copper-See also:founding and the making of clocks and bronzes. Gold and silver-working is of importance, especially for See also:embroidery and articles used in religious ceremonies. Other industries are those of printing, the manufacture of glass goods, of See also:tobacco (by the See also:state), the preparation of hides and skins (occupying 20,000 workmen), those connected with the See also:miller's trade, the manufacture of various forms of dried See also:flour-See also:paste (See also:macaroni, See also:vermicelli, &c.), See also:brewing, See also:hat-making, the manufacture of See also:chocolate, and the pork-See also:butcher's industry. Apart from the dealings in silk and silk goods, trade is in See also:cloth, See also:coal and See also:charcoal, metals and metal goods, See also:wine and See also:spirits, See also:cheese and chestnuts. Four See also:miles south-west of Lyons is Oullins (pop. 9859) which has the important works of the Paris-Lyon railway. Lyons is the seat of important See also:financial companies; of the See also:Credit Lyonnais, which does business to the amount of £200,000,000 annuallyin Lyons alone; also of coal and metallurgical companies and gas companies. the former extending their operations as far as See also:Russia, the latter See also:lighting numerous towns in France and See also:foreign countries. History.—The earliest Gallic occupants of the territory at the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone were the Segusians. In 59 B.C. some Greek refugees from the See also:banks of the See also:Herault, having obtained permission of the natives to establish themselves beside the Croix-Rousse, called their new town by the Gallic name See also:Lugudunum (q.v.) or Lugdunum; and in 43 B.C. See also:Lucius Munatius Plancus brought a Roman See also:colony to Fourvieres from Vienne. This See also:settlement soon acquired importance, and was made by Agrippa the starting-point of four great roads.

Augustus, besides building aqueducts, temples and a theatre, gave it a senate and made it the seat of an See also:

annual See also:assembly of deputies from the sixty cities of Gallia Comata. At the same time the place became the Gallic centre for the See also:worship of See also:Rome and the emperor. Under the emperors the colony of Forum Vetus and the See also:municipium of Lugdunum were united, receiving the See also:jus senates. The town was burnt in A.D. 59 and afterwards rebuilt in a much finer See also:style with See also:money given by See also:Nero; it was also adorned byTrajan, See also:Adrian and See also:Antoninus. The martyrdom of Pothinus and Blandina occurred under See also:Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 177), and some years later a still more See also:savage persecution of the Christians took place under Septimius See also:Severus, in which See also:Irenaeus, according to some authors, perished. After having been ravaged by the barbarians and abandoned by the See also:empire, Lyons in 478 became capital of the See also:kingdom of the Burgundians. It afterwards fell into the hands of the See also:Franks, and suffered severely from the See also:Saracens, but revived under See also:Charlemagne, and after the See also:death of Charles the Bald became part of the kingdom of See also:Provence. From 1032 it was a See also:fief of the emperor of See also:Germany. Subsequently the authority over the town was a subject of dispute between the archbishops of Lyons and the See also:counts of Forez; but the supremacy of the See also:French See also:kings was established under See also:Philip the See also:Fair in 1312. The citizens were constituted into a commune ruled by freely elected consuls (1320).

In the 13th century two ecclesiastical See also:

councils were held at Lyons—one in 1245, presided over by See also:Innocent IV., at which the emperor See also:Frederick II. was deposed; the second, the See also:oecumenical, under the See also:presidency of See also:Gregory X., in 1274, at which five See also:hundred bishops met. See also:Pope See also:Clement V. was crowned here in 1305, and his successor, See also:John XXII., elected in 1316. The Protestants obtained See also:possession of the place in 1562; their acts of violence were fiercely avenged in Is72 after the St See also:Bartholomew See also:massacre. Under Henry III. Lyons sided with the See also:League; but it pronounced in favour of Henry IV. The executions of See also:Henri d'Effiat, See also:marquis of Cinq-See also:Mars, and of See also:Francois de See also:Thou, who had plotted to overthrow See also:Richelieu, took place on the Place des Terreaux in 1642. In 1793 the Royalists and See also:Girondists, powerful in the city, rose against the See also:Convention, but were compelled to yield to the army of the republic under General See also:Kellermann after enduring a See also:siege of seven See also:weeks (See also:October so). Terrible chastisement ensued: the name of Lyons was changed to that of Ville-affranchie; the demolition of'its buildings was set about on a wholesale See also:scale; and vast See also:numbers of the proscribed, whom the See also:scaffold had spared, were butchered with See also:grape shot. The town resumed its old name after the fall of See also:Robespierre, and the terrorists in their turn were drowned in large numbers in the Rhone. See also:Napoleon rebuilt the Place Bellecour, reopened the churches, and made the See also:bridge of See also:Tilsit over the Saone between Bellecour and the cathedral. In 1814 and 1815 Lyons was occupied by the Austrians. In 1831, 1834, 1849, 1870 and 1871 it was the See also:scene of violent See also:industrial or See also:political disturbances.

In 1840 and 1856 disastrous floods laid waste portions of the city. See also:

International exhibitions were held here in 1872 and 1894, the latter occasion being marked by the assassination of President Carnot. See S. Charlety, Histoire de Lyon (Lyon, 1903) ; J. Godart, L'Ouvrier en soie. Monographie du tisseur lyonnais (Lyon, 1899); A. Vachet, A travers See also:les rues de Lyon (Lyon, 1902) ; A. Steyert, Nouvelle Histoire de Lyon et des provinces de Lyonnais Forez, Beaujolais (3 vols., Lyon, 1895-1899).

End of Article: LYONS (Fr. Lyon)

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