© Patricia Barry 2008 Lyon 2. Lyon 2. The Medieval City

© Patricia Barry Medieval Lyon  People in the Middle Ages had fewer resources than the Romans, so they continued building the city – Old Lyon – lower down the hill, nearer the River Saône.  This made it easier for them to access the wharves.

© Patricia Barry The medieval city  They just re-cycled the cut stones from anywhere in the Roman city  So the walls, the houses, shops, churches and even the footpaths in Old Lyon were all constructed from stones of Roman origin!

© Patricia Barry Old Lyon  This is Old Lyon. The little streets are very narrow and climb up to the top of the hill.  They are all pedestrian streets.

© Patricia Barry A rich centre  Lyon became a very wealthy and important centre during the Middle Ages.  Banks, merchants and trade fairs flocked to it because its good river port was accessible from the Mediterranean Sea.  The silk industry was established in Lyon and it became the silk centre of Europe.

© Patricia Barry The houses  This is the house of a banker in the Middle Ages.  Rich people built on the slopes of the hill  Merchants built nearer the banks of the River Saône, to be near their warehouses.

© Patricia Barry The Cathedral  The ancient cathedral of Saint Jean in Old Lyon dates from the 9 th century.

© Patricia Barry The astronomical clock  Its astronomical clock dates from the 13 th century, and it is still in working order.  At mid-day, you can see all the clockwork figurines come out.

© Patricia Barry Excavations  The old roads still exist, paved with Roman stone  No matter where you go in Lyon, you will come across archaeologists excavating various sites.

© Patricia Barry Some finds.  In this case, a new parking lot was being put in near the banks of the River Saône.  Two very large Roman trading boats have just been unearthed.  Their condition was quite remarkable.

© Patricia Barry The restaurants  Vieux Lyon is well known for its restaurants which offer a great range of typical regional dishes  Some are at reasonable prices, others are aimed at « gourmets » and cost an arm and a leg!

© Patricia Barry “Bouchons”  Lyon is famous for its cuisine  The little restaurants are called « bouchons ».  They serve excellent, regional food.

© Patricia Barry The « traboules »  The medieval houses had little covered walkways, stairs and passages between them.  These were called « Les traboules ».

© Patricia Barry A maze  It is nearly impossible to find your way through these « traboules » unless you have a guide.

© Patricia Barry The Nazis  During the Second World War, the Resistance heroes made great use of these passages to avoid capture by the Nazis.  This « traboule » dates from the 18 th century.

© Patricia Barry The Renaissance.  During the 17 th, 18 th et 19 th centuries the city expanded rapidly due to its trade.  Bridges were built across the Saône, but the flow of the river Rhône was far powerful to conquer.  Therefore, the peninsula or Presqu’île became the area for expansion.

© Patricia Barry Merchants  The rich merchants and bankers built beautiful houses of quality and good streets.  They took little notice of problems like the frequent floods from the Rhône !

© Patricia Barry La Place Bellecour  In the centre, King Louis XIV, the Sun King, had the enormous Place Bellecour built.  He decreed that all the surrounding buildings be symmetrically designed and the square left empty except for his statue.

© Patricia Barry Louis XIV  The immense city square has not changed much.  Today it still remains empty apart from the statue of Louis on his horse.

© Patricia Barry La Croix Rousse  During this period, silk makers and silk merchants moved in to la Croix Rousse, on another hillside.  Their workshops had many huge windows to allow more light on their work.

© Patricia Barry “Traboules”  Similar to Old Lyon, these workshops were linked with arcades, passages, traboules and stairs.  This is one of the arcades in the silk makers district.

© Patricia Barry 2008 End of Part 2 Go to Part 3 to continue. Find out how the city expanded in the 19 th Century