The Place de la République (, ) is a square located in the Bellecour quarter in the

2nd arrondissement of Lyon The 2nd arrondissement of Lyon () is one of the nine arrondissements of Lyon, arrondissements of the City of Lyon. History The first five Arrondissements of Lyon, arrondissements of Lyon were created by the Decree of March 24, 1852, which included ...

, France. It is crossed by the

Rue de la République The Rue de la République () is a street located in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Lyon, France. It links the Place de la Comédie in the north to the Place Le Viste in the south, just next to the Place Bellecour, via the Place de la Républ ...

along a north-south axis. It belongs to the zone classified as

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

History

The square was created in the dense urban web of the

Presqu'île The Presqu'île (; literally "almost an island" in French, meaning "peninsula")''Le petit Robert de la langue française'' 2007 is the central part of the City of Lyon, France. Extending from the foot of the Croix-Rousse hill in the north to t ...

at the same time as the Rue Impériale (now named

) in the second half of the 19th century when major works were led by the Prefect of Rhône

Claude-Marius Vaïsse Claude-Marius Vaïsse (8 July 1799 – 8 August 1864) was a French lawyer who joined the administration of the July Monarchy. During the French Second Republic he was briefly Minister of the Interior. Under the Second French Empire he was appointed ...

. Between 1862 and 1871, it was named Place Impériale, then renamed Place de Lyon. When the Rue de Lyon was renamed Rue de la République (by a prefectoral order on 5 September 1878), the square probably received its current name. Originally, there was a fountain at the centre, flanked by two flower beds and trees at the east and the west. Then in the early 20th century, a statue of Sadi Carnot (assassinated nearby) and planes were added, but removed in 1974 during the construction of

Lyon Metro Line A Line A () is a line on the Lyon Metro that runs between Perrache and Vaulx-en-Velin–La Soie. It was constructed using the cut-and-cover method, and went into service on 2 May 1978. It, together with Line B, were the inaugural lines of the Lyo ...

under the square. In 1990, an underground

car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

was created.

Location and architecture

From the

Place Bellecour The Place Bellecour () is a large square in the centre of Lyon, France, to the north of the Ainay district. Measuring 312 m by 200 m (6.2 ha or 15 acres), it is one of the largest open squares (without any patches of greenery or ...

to the south, the Rue Childebert (named after

Childebert I Childebert I ( 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

) is just in front of the square. Other three streets are directly connected to the square: the Rue

Jean de Tournes Jean de Tournes (; 1504–1564) was a French printer, book publisher and bookseller, and the founder of a long-lasting family printing business. From 1559 he was the , printer to the French king. Life Jean de Tournes was born in Lyon in ...

, Rue Stella and the Rue du Président-Carnot. A

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-Sa� ...

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

from the Rue du Président-Édouard-Herriot also provides an access to the square: the

Passage de l'Argue Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * Passage (2020 film), a Canadian docume ...

. The square is rectangular and a total of 11 streets lead to it. The Place de la République is now composed of two kiosks, a glass

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, two large plane trees and benches (at north). In the middle of the square, there is a large rectangular pool with many water jets and all around, stores of all types. To the north and the south, there are two three-floor houses which include wolves and monsters in their architecture. There is a more modern and higher building at the corner of Rue Childebert. The fountain basin at the centre of the square is so large that pedestrians can not cross diagonally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Place De La Republique, Lyon 2nd arrondissement of Lyon Republique World Heritage Sites in France