Place des Jacobins
Encyclopedia
The Place des Jacobins is a square located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon
. It was created in 1556 and a fountain was added in 1856. The square belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site
by UNESCO. According to Jean Pelletier, this square is among the most famous one of Lyon, because of its location in the center of the 2nd arrondissement and its heavy traffic, as 12 streets lead here. The square, particularly its architecture and its features, has changed its appearance many times throughout years.
, also named religious Preachers of the Order of St. Dominic, who occupied the building on the southern side of the square from 1296. These Dominicans were designated in this way when Philippe Auguste gave them a building in Paris and the brothers went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
(Jacobus in Latin).
who wanted to replace the monks cemetery, located at the north of the Jacobins church, with a market. One year later, the walls of the old cemetery of monks disappeared and thus the place became a public square. In 1562, some buildings were destroyed by the troops of the Baron des Adrets to open the rue Saint-Dominique. At the time, the square was triangular and known under the name Place de Confort.
From 1296, the Jacobins had a convent on the place, with a garden, and Jacques Duèze was elected Pope
in this convent on 7 August 1316 by 23 cardinals locked by the Count of Poitiers. Here Humbert II
, the last Dauphin of Vienne (1348), made an assignment of his States to Charles, eldest son of the Duke of Normandy
. In 1495, Charles VIII
and his wife lived in the monastery. After the Revolution of 1789, the monastery was used as cars shed. Attempts to reestablish the cult and to create a parish named St. Pothin were unsuccessful.
The Jacobins church was built over a period from 1657 to 1689 and, in the same time, a big portal added by architect Antoine Lepautre allowed the building to reach great notoriety, and famous people attended the offices, including Louis XII in 1501 and the Queen Mother
in 1579. The convent was rebuilt in 1714 and eventually nationalized in 1793. A land contiguous to the chapel was sold in 1725 and bought by Vingtrinier in 1779, then by the State in 1822. The church was demolished in 1818 and the convent housed the prefecture of the Rhone
from 1812 to 1852 under the leadership of prefect of Rhône Pierre de Bondy (and thus the street was renamed Place de la Préfecture at the time).
Notable events that occurred on the square include executions of political opponents on 15 March 1590, a big firework to celebrate the peace in 1713, and shows by a temporary theater built by Falconnet and
Farge in 1834, quickly destroyed by a fire.
The square was enlarged twice: in 1824, then during the creation of the rue Centrale, built by the architects Benoît Poncet and Jean-Amédée Savoye. In 1860, the square became trapezoidal, then the rue Gasparin was opened and new buildings were added. Some mosaics found on the square provided indications to what Roman houses looked like.
In 2004, a plaque retracing the square history was put on the square.
Horace Cardon, who lived here, rebuilt the well in 1614 on its own expense. About one century later, the well was no longer sufficient for all the inhabitants of the quarter, especially in case of fire, and thus Antoine-Michel Perrache was entrusted to erect a new pump in 1759-60.
A new fountain, designed by Desjardins, was inaugurated in 1868 to commemorate Claude-Marius Vaïsse
but this politician was not liked and the fountain diameter (41.75 meters) was deemed as too excessive. At the fall of the Second Empire
in 1870, the statue was not yet installed and was hidden in the customs warehouse. The statue could have been recast to erect that of Claude Bernard
, which was never done, but it was recast without glory in 1902. The circle of the fountain of Desjardins was disassembled and reassembled in 1877 on the Place Carnot
to host the fountain of the Republic until its final destruction in 1975 during the re-development of the square and the construction of the subway of Lyon. It was decided in 1877 to build a new fountain on the Place des Jacobins : a competition was launched from 18 January to 30 June.
The city council decided to "give to the Place des Jacobins and Lyon (Place de la République) a monument". Two "second prizes" were awarded, one to Gaspard André
for his project name "Art". He was appointed to lead the final study, and his project, presented on 28 February 1878, was approved in May. On 17 June 1878, a second competition attributed to Degeorges the creation of the four main statues : the statue of Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin
was created in Paris and the other three, the statues of Gérard Audran
, Guillaume Coustou
and Philibert de l'Orme
were carved in Lyon. The four artists are represented with their respective clothes. Although the contract scheduled the completion for 1 November 1878, the statues were not completed until 1885. The works took place on 20 December 1881 and the monument was inaugurated on 14 July 1885. The fountain was included in the supplementary inventory of monument historique
s (ISMH, 18/05/1992).
in 1863.
To the east, there is a large house, and in front, three small older ones. To the north, the building has slate roofs and, to the south-west, an eleven-storey building with rounded balconies.
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....
. It was created in 1556 and a fountain was added in 1856. 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. According to Jean Pelletier, this square is among the most famous one of Lyon, because of its location in the center of the 2nd arrondissement and its heavy traffic, as 12 streets lead here. The square, particularly its architecture and its features, has changed its appearance many times throughout years.
Successive names
In 1740, the square was called Place Confort which then absorbed the rue des Alards in 1556, and this name was after a rich family who owned buildings in the quarter. Thereafter, in 1782, it became the Place des Jacobins, then, in 1794, was renamed Place de la Fraternité. After changing its name twice — Place de la Préfecture in 1858, then Place de l'Impératrice in 1868 —, it was renamed Place des Jacobins in February 1871. The current name of the square comes from the JacobinsDominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, also named religious Preachers of the Order of St. Dominic, who occupied the building on the southern side of the square from 1296. These Dominicans were designated in this way when Philippe Auguste gave them a building in Paris and the brothers went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....
(Jacobus in Latin).
History
Square and buildings
The square itself was created in 1556 after a request by King Henri IIHenry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
who wanted to replace the monks cemetery, located at the north of the Jacobins church, with a market. One year later, the walls of the old cemetery of monks disappeared and thus the place became a public square. In 1562, some buildings were destroyed by the troops of the Baron des Adrets to open the rue Saint-Dominique. At the time, the square was triangular and known under the name Place de Confort.
From 1296, the Jacobins had a convent on the place, with a garden, and Jacques Duèze was elected Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
in this convent on 7 August 1316 by 23 cardinals locked by the Count of Poitiers. Here Humbert II
Humbert II of Viennois
Humbert II de la Tour-du-Pin was the Dauphin of the Viennois from 1333 to 16 July 1349. He was a son of the Dauphin John II and Beatrice of Hungary...
, the last Dauphin of Vienne (1348), made an assignment of his States to Charles, eldest son of the Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
. In 1495, Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
and his wife lived in the monastery. After the Revolution of 1789, the monastery was used as cars shed. Attempts to reestablish the cult and to create a parish named St. Pothin were unsuccessful.
The Jacobins church was built over a period from 1657 to 1689 and, in the same time, a big portal added by architect Antoine Lepautre allowed the building to reach great notoriety, and famous people attended the offices, including Louis XII in 1501 and the Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
in 1579. The convent was rebuilt in 1714 and eventually nationalized in 1793. A land contiguous to the chapel was sold in 1725 and bought by Vingtrinier in 1779, then by the State in 1822. The church was demolished in 1818 and the convent housed the prefecture of the Rhone
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...
from 1812 to 1852 under the leadership of prefect of Rhône Pierre de Bondy (and thus the street was renamed Place de la Préfecture at the time).
Notable events that occurred on the square include executions of political opponents on 15 March 1590, a big firework to celebrate the peace in 1713, and shows by a temporary theater built by Falconnet and
Farge in 1834, quickly destroyed by a fire.
The square was enlarged twice: in 1824, then during the creation of the rue Centrale, built by the architects Benoît Poncet and Jean-Amédée Savoye. In 1860, the square became trapezoidal, then the rue Gasparin was opened and new buildings were added. Some mosaics found on the square provided indications to what Roman houses looked like.
In 2004, a plaque retracing the square history was put on the square.
Cross and well
Originally, there was a cross on the square, but it was removed in 1562 by the Protestants. Subsequently, a formal approval in 1599 allowed to rebuild a cross, and between 1603 and 1609, Philippe Lalyame erected a pyramidal obelisk surmounted by a cross representing the Trinity and with the God's name in at least 24 languages. During the 1662 civil war, the Protestants considered this monument as a symbol of religious freedom and did not destroy it. After an urgent request by all residents of the quarter, based on the fact that this monument "[was] one of the oldest in th[e] city", this antiquated pyramid was rebuilt in 1739 by the consulate that also did add an inscription celebrating Louis XV. During the French Revolution, the pyramid was destroyed on 9 March 1793; only the pedestal of the fountain remained until 1813.Horace Cardon, who lived here, rebuilt the well in 1614 on its own expense. About one century later, the well was no longer sufficient for all the inhabitants of the quarter, especially in case of fire, and thus Antoine-Michel Perrache was entrusted to erect a new pump in 1759-60.
Fountain
A fountain was erected in 1856 by Louis Danton, a tapestry of the neighborhood, who bequeathed his fortune for a work designed by Lienard and melted by Barbezat. In 1866, when the rue Impériale (now rue Édouard-Herriot) was opened, this rendered obsolete the fountain which was removed.A new fountain, designed by Desjardins, was inaugurated in 1868 to commemorate Claude-Marius Vaïsse
Claude-Marius Vaïsse
Claude-Marius Vaïsse was a French politician, former prefect of Lyon, called the "Hausmann lyonnais".- Political career :...
but this politician was not liked and the fountain diameter (41.75 meters) was deemed as too excessive. At the fall of the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
in 1870, the statue was not yet installed and was hidden in the customs warehouse. The statue could have been recast to erect that of Claude Bernard
Claude Bernard
Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. He was the first to define the term milieu intérieur . Historian of science I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science"...
, which was never done, but it was recast without glory in 1902. The circle of the fountain of Desjardins was disassembled and reassembled in 1877 on the Place Carnot
Place Carnot
The Place Carnot is a square located in the Perrache quarter, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon.-Location:The Place Carnot is at the end of the Presqu'île, near the Perrache railway station. Bordered by the rue de Condé, it can be accessed by the rue Victor Hugo, through the rue Henri IV and rue...
to host the fountain of the Republic until its final destruction in 1975 during the re-development of the square and the construction of the subway of Lyon. It was decided in 1877 to build a new fountain on the Place des Jacobins : a competition was launched from 18 January to 30 June.
The city council decided to "give to the Place des Jacobins and Lyon (Place de la République) a monument". Two "second prizes" were awarded, one to Gaspard André
Gaspard André
Gaspard André was a French architect, best known as the designer of the Theater of the Place des Célestins, the Fountain of the Place des Jacobins and the Grand Temple de Lyon in Lyon, the city hall of Neuilly-sur-Seine and the Palace of Rumine in Lausanne.-References:*Aynard, Édouard , , Lyon :...
for his project name "Art". He was appointed to lead the final study, and his project, presented on 28 February 1878, was approved in May. On 17 June 1878, a second competition attributed to Degeorges the creation of the four main statues : the statue of Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin
Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin
Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin was a 19th-century French painter. His celebrated 1836 work Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer is in the Louvre.-Early life:...
was created in Paris and the other three, the statues of Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran , was a French engraver of the Audran family, the third son of Claude Audran....
, Guillaume Coustou
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
Guillaume Coustou the Elder was a French sculptor and academician. Coustou was the younger brother of French sculptor Nicolas Coustou and the pupil of his mother's brother, Antoine Coysevox...
and Philibert de l'Orme
Philibert de l'Orme
Philibert DeLorme was a French architect, one of the great masters of the French Renaissance.He was born at Lyon, the son of Jean Delorme, a master mason. At an early age Philibert was sent to Italy to study and was employed there by Pope Paul III...
were carved in Lyon. The four artists are represented with their respective clothes. Although the contract scheduled the completion for 1 November 1878, the statues were not completed until 1885. The works took place on 20 December 1881 and the monument was inaugurated on 14 July 1885. The fountain was included in the supplementary inventory of monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
s (ISMH, 18/05/1992).
Architecture
Most buildings of the square are wealthy, with five decorated floors; and built circa 1850. The No. 1 was built in 1860 after plans by Frédéric Ginioz. The No. 4 of the Place des Jacobins is the painter Paul Borel's house, conducted by architect Pierre BossanPierre Bossan
Pierre-Marie Bossan was a French historicist architect, a pupil of Henri Labrouste, specialising in ecclesiastical architecture. In 1844 he was appointed architect to the diocese of Lyon, where his major work was the neo-Byzantine basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière , on a height dominating Lyon...
in 1863.
To the east, there is a large house, and in front, three small older ones. To the north, the building has slate roofs and, to the south-west, an eleven-storey building with rounded balconies.
See also
- 2nd arrondissement of Lyon2nd arrondissement of LyonThe 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....
- Gaspard AndréGaspard AndréGaspard André was a French architect, best known as the designer of the Theater of the Place des Célestins, the Fountain of the Place des Jacobins and the Grand Temple de Lyon in Lyon, the city hall of Neuilly-sur-Seine and the Palace of Rumine in Lausanne.-References:*Aynard, Édouard , , Lyon :...
- World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...