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Published: November 8th 2017
July 26 - 27
Our second day in Lyon we had signed up for a guided walk through passageways called traboule in the afternoon so took the morning to go to the St. Jean Baptiste Cathedral which is located in the historic district of Lyon. This Cathedral is known as the primary seat and home of the Church of France. It was built between the 12
th and 15
th C. in what is known as the oldest Christian city in France. It has a much different look from other Cathedrals that we have seen further north in France with their soaring heights and were informed its style is influenced from Italy.
When you enter the Cathedral you notice the wonderful stained glass rose windows which we learned are from the 13
th & 14
th C. The Cathedral has a very open feel as the columns seem to raise upward forever and there is plenty of light entering from the windows that are located up quite high. The astronomical clock that was installed in 1383 which amazingly survived all any major damage over the years. It is amazingly accurate and even has been able to compute various Catholic holidays including
those that change each year. An example is that it has indicated Easter on the correct day since it started and will be able to do this through the year 2019. Unfortunately we didn’t have a guide or anyone to find out our answer to the question of what happens after 2019. Hopefully someone is working on a solution to that for future generations.
In the afternoon we joined the guided tour of the “secret passages” or traboules located in the historic area of Lyon. They provide a passage for people between streets, which run 3 to 4 buildings deep. The earliest of these were developed in the 4
th C. to allow easier access to fresh water supply without having to travel the winding paths to the source of water from high on the hills where the first settlement was located. It provided not only a more direct route to water, but also a covered pathway for protection in all types of weather.
These passageways continued to be incorporated into the design of the buildings during the 16
th C. to make it easier for people to get around without going completely around a full block of buildings. At
this time they were extensively used by silk workers to get their wares to market without being damaged in the open air streets. As the depth of buildings increased between roads from two to four buildings deep, those in the middle had small courtyards and galleries to allow them to have natural light, but still protected people from the weather while moving their wares.
A common feature was the fact that the staircases to the upper floors were added to the outside of the buildings as they did not know how to incorporate them into the building itself. Each of the ones we saw had spiral staircases to the upper levels in what looked like a tower. This also was beneficial in not taking away from the living space and meant that only one staircase needed to be built for a number of buildings to share.
There may be approximately 400 of these “secret passages” in Lyon but only about 40 are open to the public now. Many of these buildings are now government provided housing with an agreement that the passages of these buildings are open to the public during specific daylight hours and they are private
again in the evenings. During WWII these “secret passages” were used by the resistance for meetings which assisted in preventing the Nazis from occupying the whole of Lyon. There are plaques in town that tell you which are open, but taking the guided tour gave a much fuller understanding of the use of these passages as well as the buildings themselves.
On our way back to the marina we stopped at an artisan ice cream which seemed to be quite popular by the look of the crowd. We were going to just get a cone, but found that many others were having a “sampler” so decided to try that ourselves. In this way we got to sample a much wider variety of flavors – we stuck to the fruit flavors and were not disappointed. What a way to end the day!
Our agenda the next day was to go up to Fourviere Hill where the Notre Dame Basilica, the Roman Theatre and the Gallo-Roman Museum are located. The history of the Notre Dame Basilica is an interesting one. In 1870 the bishop of Lyon stated that he would make sure to have a worthy tribute to the Virgin
Every Town Has a Hotel de Ville
this one in Lyon is quite impressiveMary built if in fact the Prussians spared the city of Lyon during the Franco-Prussian War. In fact Lyon was actually spared during this War, therefore this promise needed to be kept as thanks for the Virgin Mary answering the prayers of the people of Lyon. Many of the wealthy citizens at the time generously provided funds in the form of money and jewels. To this day, the citizens of Lyon continue to provide funds for the maintenance of the Basilica.
Why was the Basilica built high on the Fourviere Hill? This area has been an important part of the city since the beginning thought to be 43 AD. It was the heart of the city of Lugdunum (the name of the city under Roman control) with its Roman temples, theatres and forums. In 177 AD this area became a place of pilgrimage as a result of the martyrdom of St. Pothin with the first record of a chapel being in this location in 1148. In 1643 the plague had hit this area and the city councilors promised to make a pilgrimage to the Fouviere Hill if the city was freed of the plague. The plague did end and
to this day on Feast Day (Sept 8
th) the councilors still make the walk up to the Basilica as promised so many years ago. With the important role this area already held for the city, it seemed appropriate to build the Basilica on the site of the former Roman temple. In 1852 the gilded statute of the Virgin Mary was placed on the bell tower and again another procession up the hill occurs on December 8
th each year. It would be interesting to be here on any of these special days to see the processions from the Cathedral in the old city to the Basilica on the hill.
When you enter the Basilica you are almost overwhelmed with the elaborate mosaics that cover the floors, walls and ceiling. Not surprisingly the scenes center on the Virgin Mary. In fact there are two churches here, one on top of the other. The upper church is very ornate, while the lower one is quite simple. The stairway down to the lower church has a prayer that is written in numerous languages. It became obvious why as we entered the lower church. All around the outside edges are statutes or images of
the Virgin Mary from a number of nations which are known for their own pilgrimages. In comparison to the church upstairs this is a much simpler place of worship.
The Romans were an interesting conquering force – once they conquered an area they didn’t care what gods you followed as long as you pledged allegiance to the Emperor. The other thing about the Romans –once they conquered a people they started by building military outposts and as the population grew they would then “Romanize” the developing city by building temples, amphitheatres and baths. All of these things have been evident in Lyon.
As mentioned earlier the Fourviere Hill was the location of the former Roman city of Lugdunum and fortunately there is still a sizeable portion of the Roman Theatre still remaining. The theatre had been able to handle 10,000 spectators during its day, but now only holds 3,000. It is pleasing to see that in fact this theatre is still quite active to this day. In fact the day we were there they were setting up for a performance that evening. We were able to freely walk around the theatre to get a glimpse of what it
must have been like during Roman times. The ‘cheaper seats’ are definitely quite a distance from the stage and involve quite a climb up a steep staircase. With the number of spectators that it held, it was designed with 5 entrances allowing for a very orderly circulation flow for getting people in and out of their seats quickly. There was a smaller theatre which was used for speeches and songs due to its acoustics. It also is being used currently due to this excellent attribute.
The Gallo-Roman Museum gave us much more insight into the history of Lugdunum and the impact of the Roman Empire on this area. Archeological findings show that there was a settlement here since the 4
th C. BC. with trade in wine and ceramics being a major activity. After Julius Caesar was assassinated civil war broke out and in 43 BC the Roman Senate ordered the founding of a city to be developed at this location which was the start of Lugdunum. It was a critical transportation hub for Gaul being located at the junction of the Saone and Rhone River. Within 50 years it grew in size and importance becoming the administrative centre of
Roman Gaul and Germany. The population at this time is estimated to be anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000. With its location close to Germany it was a perfect staging location for Roman expansion into its territory. Numerous Emperors of the Roman Empire were born here or spent considerable time here which helped to make it very prosperous. The minting of coins was done here as well as banks and custom services existed for the government. It became the major manufacturing center for pottery, metal work and weaving for all of Gaul with much of it being traded throughout the area. With its location at the junction of two navigable rivers, the Saone and the Rhone, it had a large concentration of wharves and warehouses. The wine trade from Italy and oil from Spain went through this location to the rest of Gaul. With the concentration of trade came people from many nations to this area – Italians, Greeks and from the oriental areas of Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine. With this came evidence of numerous temples and shrines reflecting the various religious beliefs of a multi-cultural population. Traditional Gallic gods as well as Roman gods were being worshipped as well. This
openness to eastern religions may have also allowed the first Christian community to be started here during the 2
nd C. One interesting fact we learned about the Romans was that as they conquered a people they allowed them to continue to worship their own gods as long as they agreed to pledge allegiance to the Roman Emperor.
The history of this area is complex, but fortunately with the archeological findings, many of them being on display at the museum, helped to verify some of these details. They have uncovered numerous objects including ceramics, objects made of glass and bone, and coins which help with the history of the area. They have numerous mosaics that were uncovered and now take up large areas of the floor space in the museum. Even the designs in these mosaics help in showing diagrams of buildings, historic events and even confirmed that chariot races took place here.
This day was full of history, climbing hills and amazing beauty. We decided to end it by treating ourselves to an evening out at an Indian restaurant for a wonderful dinner. Tomorrow we will leave Lyon and continue on our journey toward our goal for this
season, the Mediterranean.
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