La Croix-Rousse
Encyclopedia
La Croix-Rousse is a hill in the town of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, as well as the name of a quarter located on this hill (divided into two halves - the pentes, a part of the town's 1st arrondissement
Arrondissements of Lyon
The nine arrondissements of Lyon are the administrative divisions of the City of Lyon. Unlike the spiral pattern of the arrondissements of Paris, or the meandering pattern of those in Marseille, the layout in Lyon is more idiosyncratic...
, and the plateau, in its 4th arrondissement
Arrondissements of Lyon
The nine arrondissements of Lyon are the administrative divisions of the City of Lyon. Unlike the spiral pattern of the arrondissements of Paris, or the meandering pattern of those in Marseille, the layout in Lyon is more idiosyncratic...
). It is 254m at its peak. It is near the Place des Terreaux
Place des Terreaux
The Place des Terreaux is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon...
.
The quarter is heavily marked by silk industry (Lyons was the centre of silk manufacture in Europe).
The quarter is called La Croix-Rousse (The russet cross) because of the cross the Christians put there in the 16th century: made in stone from Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or
Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or
Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-References:*...
, it was reddish-brown.
In Lyon, La Croix-Rousse is nicknamed la colline qui travaille (the hill that works) in contrast to the better-known hill to the east, Fourvière
Fourvière
Fourvière is a district of Lyon, France located on a hill immediately west of the old part of the town, rising abruptly from the river Saône and then gently sloping down to the north-west. It is the site of the original Roman settlement of Lugdunum...
, which is known as la colline qui prie (the hill that prays).
The district started developing in the 18th century when the silk workshops moved here from the Vieux Lyons area. The canut
Canut
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 the commune of l'Arbresle are also called canuts.-Canut...
s (silk workers) were subject to extremely poor working conditions. On account of these conditions, they staged many worker uprisings, known as the Canut revolts
Canut revolts
Three major revolts by silk workers in Lyon, France, called the Canut revolts took place during the first half of the 19th century. The first occurred in November 1831, and was the first clearly defined worker uprising of the Industrial Revolution....
. The first revolt, in October 1831 is considered to be one of the very first worker uprisings.
Sources
- Domenico Pucciarelli, Le rêve au quotidien, de la ruche ouvrière à la ruche alternative, les expériences collectives de la Croix-Rousse, 1975-1995, Atelier de création libertaire, Lyon, 1996.
- Le MondeLe MondeLe Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, A Lyon, la Croix-Rousse demeure un quartier rebelle, 01/08/2003 - Jean Pelletier : Connaître son arrondissement – le 4ème, éditions lyonnaises d’art et d’histoire, ISBN 2-84147-043-1
- Louis F. Lacroux, La Croix-Rousse en flânant, Éditions Xavier Lejeune
- Bernard Collonges, Le quartier des Capucins - Histoire du bas des pentes de la Croix-Rousse, éditions Aléas, septembre 2004, 115 p., ISBN 2-84307-100-0
- Josette Barre, La colline de la Croix-Rousse, Éditions Lyonnaises d’Art et d’Histoire