The Fort de Montessuy is a fort in the first belt of fortifications in Lyon, located in the neighborhood of Montessuy in Caluire-et-Cuire, Rhône, France.

History

Built in 1831, it was linked to

Fort de Caluire Fort de Caluire was an old fortification situated in Caluire-et-Cuire. Now demolished, it was part of the first belt of forts protecting Lyon. History Built in 1831, it was connected to the Fort de Montessuy by a long chamber, from which ...

, its less imposing twin, by an enclosure aligned with

île Barbe The Île Barbe is an island situated in the middle of the Saône (rivière), Saône, in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon, 9th arrondissement de Lyon, the quartier Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe (a former-commune annexed in 1963). Its name comes from the ...

, protecting Lyon and particularly

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 ...

from invaders coming up the road from the Dombes. From the north bank of the Rhône, it defended the river and the

Fort des Brotteaux A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. North was considered dangerous, so a large

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

was built before the fort in this direction, as well as a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

further out. When the Germans were leaving Caluire-et-Cuire on 24 August 1944, two children, Jean Turba (1930 - 1944) and Bernadette Choux (1931 - 1944) watched their departure through field-glasses from the fort de Montessuy; soldiers still posted across the Rhône fired on them with machine guns, killing them both. A street in Montessuy was named after the children (allée Turba-et-Choux). On the wall of the école d'Application Jean-Jaurès de Caluire (a public grade school on the place Jules-Ferry opened on October 1, 1933), a plaque commemorates Jean Turba and two 1944 other victims of the Nazis, also former students at the school. Caluire-Fort_de_Montessuy-3.JPG, Scarp tops Caluire-Fort_de_Montessuy-2.JPG, Barracks Caluire-Fort_de_Montessuy.JPG,

Current use

The fort still exists in Caluire-et-Cuire, dans le quartier Montessuy, and has been owned by the municipality since 1972. Its moats have been covered over by fill dirt from the excavations for the construction of the new buildings now at the heart of the Montessuy neighborhood. Vegetation is slowly invading the fort. The tops of a few scarps remain visible, emerging from the ground, as well as a ''dame'', a column of stone that prevented attackers from walking along the top of the enclosure. It isn't possible to visit the fort, but a few nonprofits have taken up residence in the only surviving building, the barracks, such as AS Caluire - Tir à l'arme de poing or AS Pétanque Caluire. The exterior of the fort has been transformed into green space; there is a skatepark nearby.

References

Bibliography

* François Dallemagne (photogr. Georges Fessy), ''Les défenses de Lyon : enceintes et fortifications'', Lyon, Éditions Lyonnaises d'Art et d'Histoire, 2006, 255 p. ({{ISBN, 2-84147-177-2), p. 124–126 Fortification lines

History

Current use

See also

References

Bibliography