The Fort Duchère or Fort Balmont is located in the 9th arrondissement of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. Composed of five

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s built between 1844 and 1851, it is part of the first belt of fortifications in Lyon, which include: * Fort de Caluire (now demolished), * Fort de Loyasse and * Fort Saint-Jean. This fort was unusual for its star shape, evoking the style of Vauban fortification and construction. It was demolished in 1960 and replaced by a sports complex.

History

It was originally built to defend

in case the enemy managed to infiltrate

Limonest Limonest () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Geography Limonest is located northwest of Lyon in the Monts d'Or hills. Its people are known as the ''Limonois''. See also *Communes of t ...

by the road from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, more particularly by royal roads of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and Bourbonnais. In 1944, 39

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

fighters were shot by the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

at the fort after they were sentenced to death at a court-martial. Decommissioned in 1957, the fort was used in the 1960s as a recruitment center for the army, then welcomed returning soldiers home from

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

Contemporary period

When the neighborhood of Duchère was built, Fort Balmont became a sports complex that included Duchère Stadium and the Stephane-Diagana Athletic Hall. Nothing remains of the fort there now.

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duchere, Fort de la 9th arrondissement of Lyon Fortifications of Lyon Fortification lines