The Cour des Voraces, also called Maison de la République, is a courtyard building in the Pentes quarter, in the

1st arrondissement of Lyon The 1st arrondissement of Lyon, France is one of the nine arrondissements of the City of Lyon. It is located below the hill of Croix-Rousse and on the north part of the Presqu'île formed by the Saône and the Rhône, the two rivers in Lyon. T ...

, famous for its enormous six-floor stairway. It is an impressive

traboule Traboules (from Latin ''transambulare'' via vulgar Latin ''trabulare'' meaning "to cross") are a type of secret covered passageways primarily associated with the city of Lyon, France, but also located in the French cities of Villefranche-sur-Saô ...

, a covered passage with entrances on Place Colbert, Montée Saint-Sébastien and Rue Imbert-Colomès.

History

Situated on the slopes of the

Croix-Rousse La Croix-Rousse is a hill high in the city of Lyon, France, as well as the name of a neighborhood located on this hill. The neighborhood is divided into les pentes (slopes, belonging to the city's 1st arrondissement) and le plateau (atop the hil ...

, the court is a major symbol of Lyon. Built in 1840, it is a fine example of the folk architecture of the

canuts The canuts () were Lyonnais silk workers, often working on Jacquard looms. They were primarily found in the Croix-Rousse neighbourhood of Lyon in the 19th century. Although the term generally refers to Lyonnais silk workers, silk workers in th ...

, related to the

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

weaving industry, which deeply marked the neighborhood. It is also a place that symbolizes some great moments in the history of Lyon. A plaque on the building reads: "In the Cour des Voraces, hive of silk work, canuts struggled for their lives and their dignity." The name of the building comes from a group of workers called the Voraces weavers, who reputedly distinguished themselves by their republican insurrections of 1848 and 1849. According to sources, the Court of Voraces would have served as a refuge for canuts workers during their revolts.Catherine Lagrange, "La cour des Voraces conserve son mystère", 18/07, ''Le Parisien'' Given the date of construction, this may refer to fighting during the second uprising of Voraces in 1849. The building housed the lodge of a mutual organization of canuts: Le Devoir mutuel. There is a theory that the word ''Dévoirant'', namely Le Devoir mutual members, may eventually have been corrupted to the word "Voraces". During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, traboules of Lyon were dark and secret places, little known to foreigners, and their configuration enabled resistance networks to escape the surveillance of the German occupiers. Therefore, the Cour des Voraces remains often mentioned as a symbol of resistance. In 1995, the Habitat et Humanisme Association led by Father Bernard Devers bought the place and launched the rehabilitation of the court that became a symbol of social housing. The court (its floor and its two staircases) is classified as

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cour Des Voraces 1st arrondissement of Lyon Voraces Buildings and structures in Lyon Monuments historiques of Lyon

History

See also

References