Place Bellecour
Encyclopedia
The Place Bellecour is a large town square in Lyon
, France
, to the north of the Ainay
district. Measuring 312 m by 200 m (62,000 m²), it is the largest clear square (i.e., without any patches of greenery, trees or any other kind of obstacles) in Europe
, and the third biggest square of France, behind the place des Quinconces
in Bordeaux
(126,000 m²) et the place de la Concorde
in Paris (86,400 m²). It is also the largest pedestrian square of Europe, the places mentioned above can accommodate vehicles, as opposed to the Place Bellecour.
In the middle is a statue of king Louis XIV mounted on a horse, made by François-Frédéric Lemot
in 1825. Another statue, representing the Petit Prince
and Antoine de Saint-Exupery
, is located at the west end of the square.
Two pavilions are also on the square. The first houses the tourist information office of Lyon, the second an art gallery.
The square belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site
by UNESCO.
This square is now in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon
, between the Saône
and the Rhône
, and forms the focal centre point of the city. It also links the major shopping streets, as well as hosting the Lyon tourist office, and the Lyon central post office. From Place Bellecour start three major streets of the Presqu'île
, including two pedestrian ones : the rue de la République
, leading to the Hôtel de Ville and the Opera Nouvel, the Rue Victor Hugo
, which leads to Perrache, and the Rue du Président Édouard Herriot, with a concentration of luxury shops and leading to the Place des Terreaux
. The quarter of Vieux Lyon
and the Lyon Cathedral are in front over the Saône.
The Place Bellecour is the kilometer 0 of Lyon: all distances are counted from this point.
The Place Bellecour is served by the Metro A
, Metro D
and many buses, including 10, 14 and 88. Bellecour station is therefore the largest metro
station, Bellecour, which connects the A and D lines.
In the late 12th century, the archbishop of Lyon had a vitis vinifera
called Bella curtis (Beau jardin, in French). Abandoned, the area became swampy.
In 1562, François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets
attacked Lyon, installed his soldiers on the "Pré de Belle-cour".
In 1604, Henry IV
forced the Lyon
City Council
to acquire what by then had become a pasture in order to create a public square, but the heirs of the Archbishop challenged this order in court, resulting in an interminable trial.
Many years later, in 1708, Louis XIV obtained the ownership of the square. In 1715, it became the Place Royale. Named Place Louis-le-Grand, it was adorned with a bronze statue of the king made by Martin Desjardins
. Around the square, some buildings were then constructed whose facades were designed by Robert de Cotte
, the first architect of Louis XIV.
During the French Revolution
, an Altar dedicated to Liberty was erected on the square on 14 July 1790. The square changed its name and became the Place de la Fédération. A guillotine was installed here in 1792. The royal statue was destroyed in 1793, and the square was then named Place de l'Égalité.
On 21 June 1800, Napoleon I
, after his victory at Marengo, laid the foundation stone for new buildings. The square was renamed Place Bonaparte, later Place Napoléon. During the Bourbon Restoration
, in 1825, a new statue of Louis XIV was erected.
It was only under the French Third Republic
that the square took its current name : Place Bellecour.
In the center of the square, there is an equestrian statue of Louis XIV, made by François-Frédéric Lemot
. It is accompanied, at his feet, by two allegorical statues of the Saône
and the Rhône
, created by brothers Nicolas and Guillaume Costou in 1720. The base came from a village in the Beaujolais
: Le Perréon
.
The first statue was created in 1713 and destroyed during the French Revolution, in 1793, to make it cannons.
In 1825, the current statue, sculpted in Paris by François-Frédéric Lemot, was installed on the square. It was transported to Lyon in twelve days on a coupling tracted by twenty-four horses. The entrance to the statue in the city was a festive occasion that attracted a big audience.
There is also a statue of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
sitting in front of the Little Prince
. It was erected in 2000 for the centenary of the aviator's birth.
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, to the north of the Ainay
Ainay
Ainay is an area within the Presqu'ile district in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, to the south of Place Bellecour and the north of Perrache. It is best known for its Romanesque church, the Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay. A middle-class area in the city centre, its buildings mainly date to the...
district. Measuring 312 m by 200 m (62,000 m²), it is the largest clear square (i.e., without any patches of greenery, trees or any other kind of obstacles) in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the third biggest square of France, behind the place des Quinconces
Place des Quinconces
The Place des Quinconces, located in Bordeaux, France, is one of the largest city squares in Europe .It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Château Trompette, intended to prevent rebellion against the city. The guns were turned towards the center. Its current shape was adopted in 1816...
in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
(126,000 m²) et the place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
in Paris (86,400 m²). It is also the largest pedestrian square of Europe, the places mentioned above can accommodate vehicles, as opposed to the Place Bellecour.
In the middle is a statue of king Louis XIV mounted on a horse, made by François-Frédéric Lemot
François-Frédéric Lemot
François-Frédéric Lemot was a French sculptor, working in the Neoclassical style.-Biography:Lemot was born at Lyon....
in 1825. Another statue, representing the Petit Prince
The Little Prince
The Little Prince , first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ....
and Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
, is located at the west end of the square.
Two pavilions are also on the square. The first houses the tourist information office of Lyon, the second an art gallery.
The square belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCO.
Location
2nd arrondissement of Lyon
The 2nd arrondissement of Lyon is one of the nine arrondissements of the City of Lyon.-History:The first five arrondissements of Lyon were created by the Decree of March 24, 1852, which included the 2nd arrondissement.The current mayor is Denis Broliquier....
, between the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
and the Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, and forms the focal centre point of the city. It also links the major shopping streets, as well as hosting the Lyon tourist office, and the Lyon central post office. From Place Bellecour start three major streets of the Presqu'île
Presqu'ile (Lyon)
The Presqu’île, literally the "peninsula", extending from the foot of the Croix Rousse hill to the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône rivers, is in the city centre of Lyon, France. It has a preponderance of cafés, restaurants, luxury shops, department stores, banks, government buildings, and...
, including two pedestrian ones : the rue de la République
Rue de la République
Rue de la République is a street located in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Lyon. This is the main shopping street of the city. This zone is served by the metro stations Bellecour, Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel and Cordeliers...
, leading to the Hôtel de Ville and the Opera Nouvel, the Rue Victor Hugo
Rue Victor Hugo (Lyon)
Rue Victor-Hugo is a pedestrian street in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, in the Ainay district of the Presqu'île quarter, reputed to be one of the most known shopping area of Lyon. From north to south, it connects the Place Bellecour to the Place Carnot...
, which leads to Perrache, and the Rue du Président Édouard Herriot, with a concentration of luxury shops and leading to the Place des Terreaux
Place des Terreaux
The Place des Terreaux is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon...
. The quarter of Vieux Lyon
Vieux Lyon
The Vieux Lyon is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon in the 5th arrondissement.This zone is served by the metro line In 1954, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites...
and the Lyon Cathedral are in front over the Saône.
The Place Bellecour is the kilometer 0 of Lyon: all distances are counted from this point.
The Place Bellecour is served by the Metro A
Lyon Metro
The Lyon metro, in Lyon, France, first opened in 1978 and now consists of four lines. It is part of the Transports en Commun Lyonnais system of public transport, and is supported by a network of tramways....
, Metro D
Lyon Metro
The Lyon metro, in Lyon, France, first opened in 1978 and now consists of four lines. It is part of the Transports en Commun Lyonnais system of public transport, and is supported by a network of tramways....
and many buses, including 10, 14 and 88. Bellecour station is therefore the largest metro
Lyon Metro
The Lyon metro, in Lyon, France, first opened in 1978 and now consists of four lines. It is part of the Transports en Commun Lyonnais system of public transport, and is supported by a network of tramways....
station, Bellecour, which connects the A and D lines.
History
During the Gallo-Roman era, the quarter of Bellecour was an alluvial island. In Roman times, the quarter had military and commercial activities: remains of huts which served as warehouses for traders and Gallo-Roman boatmen, called Canabae, have been found in this area.In the late 12th century, the archbishop of Lyon had a vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
called Bella curtis (Beau jardin, in French). Abandoned, the area became swampy.
In 1562, François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets
François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets
François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets was a Huguenot leader, notorious for his cruelty; he died a Catholic.He was born in 1512 or 1513 at the château of La Frette . During the reign of Henry II of France he served with distinction in the royal army and became colonel of the legions of Dauphiné,...
attacked Lyon, installed his soldiers on the "Pré de Belle-cour".
In 1604, Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
forced the Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
to acquire what by then had become a pasture in order to create a public square, but the heirs of the Archbishop challenged this order in court, resulting in an interminable trial.
Many years later, in 1708, Louis XIV obtained the ownership of the square. In 1715, it became the Place Royale. Named Place Louis-le-Grand, it was adorned with a bronze statue of the king made by Martin Desjardins
Martin Desjardins
Martin Desjardins, born Martin van den Bogaert was a French sculptor and stuccoist of Dutch birth.He was born at Breda, the son of a milliner in a house that would later carry the name 'de Drye Bredasche Hoeden'...
. Around the square, some buildings were then constructed whose facades were designed by Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, he later became his brother-in-law and his collaborator...
, the first architect of Louis XIV.
During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, an Altar dedicated to Liberty was erected on the square on 14 July 1790. The square changed its name and became the Place de la Fédération. A guillotine was installed here in 1792. The royal statue was destroyed in 1793, and the square was then named Place de l'Égalité.
On 21 June 1800, Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, after his victory at Marengo, laid the foundation stone for new buildings. The square was renamed Place Bonaparte, later Place Napoléon. During the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
, in 1825, a new statue of Louis XIV was erected.
It was only under the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
that the square took its current name : Place Bellecour.
Statues
François-Frédéric Lemot
François-Frédéric Lemot was a French sculptor, working in the Neoclassical style.-Biography:Lemot was born at Lyon....
. It is accompanied, at his feet, by two allegorical statues of the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
and the Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, created by brothers Nicolas and Guillaume Costou in 1720. The base came from a village in the Beaujolais
Beaujolais
Beaujolais is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wine generally made of the Gamay grape which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made mostly with Chardonnay grapes...
: Le Perréon
Le Perréon
Le Perréon is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-References:*...
.
The first statue was created in 1713 and destroyed during the French Revolution, in 1793, to make it cannons.
In 1825, the current statue, sculpted in Paris by François-Frédéric Lemot, was installed on the square. It was transported to Lyon in twelve days on a coupling tracted by twenty-four horses. The entrance to the statue in the city was a festive occasion that attracted a big audience.
There is also a statue of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
sitting in front of the Little Prince
The Little Prince
The Little Prince , first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ....
. It was erected in 2000 for the centenary of the aviator's birth.
Main events
Throughout the years, a number of events took place on Place Bellecour :- In winter, an ice rinkIce rinkAn ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
is installed. - There are sometimes concerts and events including a book fair or a distribution of the "Petit Paumé".
- It is also often the passage location of many students or trade union demonstrations.
- On the weekend of PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, there is a contest of pétanquePétanquePétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...
. - Every Friday night, the square is the starting point of a roller ride .
- In winter, a 60-meters Ferris wheelFerris wheelA Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
is installed on the Place Antonin Poncet. Since 2006, due to extensive works, the wheel is located a few meters further, on the Place Bellecour. It is dismantled in early March.
Panorama