The Rue d'Austerlitz is a street in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, in La Croix-Rousse quarter. It begins on the rue du Mail, at the corner of Place de la Croix-Rousse, crosses the rue du Pavilion, the rue de Belfort and the rue Aimé Boussange, and ends on Place Bellevue. Its name refers to the Battle of Austerlitz, one of the greatest victories of Napoleon. There are metro and velo'v stations.

Rue d'Austerlitz
Rue des Fossés
Location4th arrondissement of Lyon, Lyon, France
Postal code69004
Coordinates45°46′33″N 4°50′03″E / 45.775755°N 4.834078°E / 45.775755; 4.834078
Construction
Construction start1812

History

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Nearby rue Dumenge, the rue d'Austerlitz was originally named rue des Fossés[1][2] because it ran along the ditches dug at the base of the old wall. It was formed in 1812 during the creation of the "clos Dumenge" composed of buildings or workshops specially-designed for weavers (the canuts).[3] The Voraces had their headquarters in the cafe of the Mère Marshal in 1848, at the corner of the rue du Mail.[4] The street was eventually named rue d'Austrelitz after deliberation of the Municipal Council on 4 August 1854, during the Second Empire.[5] The upper part of the street was part of the town which was developed in front of the door of La Croix-Rousse from the 15th century. The No. 4 was offered to the Hospices of Lyon on 7 March 1900.[3]

In the past, there were a military gymnasium, and a greenspace that still exists today in the street.[6] In fact, there were five streets which were named after the victories of the battles of Napoleon Bonaparte: Marengo, Lodi, Jena, Eylau and Austerlitz. However, among them, only the rue Austerlitz has retained its name until today.[7]

Architecture and events

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The street starts with old one-floor houses, then with higher facades. After the rue de Belfast, there were buildings only on the eastern side : simple facades of 19th century canuts houses. The apartments are typical of the canuts architecture : particularly high, in the goal of installing the looms, and bright. The bottom of these buildings consisted of small shops, often businesses selling main foods.[8] The rue d'Austerlitz, far more than its neighbor the rue Dumenge, has retained its commercial vocation. In front, there is the garden Deswarte. At Nos. 21 and 23, two plaques pay tribute to painters E. Brouillard and G. N'Guyen who lived in the street.[9]

The association of merchants on the street regularly organizes events, including a giant Advent calendar, some windows on the street are numbered and each day one of them opens, revealing a person who distributes sweets to passersby. Within the scoop of the 2008 Fête des Lumières, there were also a Tic Tac Toe using the windows of inhabitants and a Giant Tetris to which passersby played with a carpet underfoot.

References

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  1. ^ Vachet, Adolphe (1902). À travers les rues de Lyon (in French) (1982, Marseille ed.). Lyon: Laffitte reprints. pp. 49–50. ISBN 2-7348-0062-4.
  2. ^ Maynard, Louis (2009). Histoires, légendes et anecdotes à propos des rues de Lyon, avec indication de ce qu'on peut y remarquer en les parcourant (in French). Les Traboules. p. 32. ISBN 978-2-911491-57-3.
  3. ^ a b Maynard, Louis (1932). Dictionnaire des lyonnaiseries — Les hommes. Le sol. Les rues. Histoires et légendes (in French). Vol. 1 (1982 ed.). Lyon: Jean Honoré. p. 107.
  4. ^ Brun De La Valette, Robert (1969). Lyon et ses rues (in French). Paris: Le Fleuve. p. 93.
  5. ^ Vanario, Maurice (2002). Rues de Lyon à travers les siècles (in French). Lyon: ELAH. p. 21. ISBN 2-84147-126-8.
  6. ^ Pelletier, Jean (1985). Lyon pas à pas — son histoire à travers ses rues — Rive droite de la Saône, Croix-Rousse, quais et ponts de la Saône (in French). Roanne / Le Coteau: Horvath. p. 146. ISBN 2-7171-0377-5.
  7. ^ Bouvier, Jean-Claude (2007). Les noms de rues disent la ville (in French). Bonneton. p. 108. ISBN 9782862534138. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. ^ Barre, Josette (1991). Soierie lyonnaise et habitat : typologie des immeubles de la Croix-Rousse vers 1830 (in French). pp. 39–52. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Rue d'Austerlitz" (in French). Rues de Lyon. Retrieved 22 December 2009.