Travel in Lyon-France-History-WorldTravelGate.net®-

Prehistory

The history of Lyon reaches more than 2000 years back in time. The name of the city as we know it today stems from the Roman name Lugdonum. This name (which is interpreted in many different ways, e.g. like 'The Raven's Hill' or as 'Hill of the God Lug') has, in strange ways been changed into Lyon, a name which therefore has nothing to do with a 'lion' (also lion in French). Nevertheless the city keeps a lion in its sign, and numerous details on buildings and monuments feature lions of different shape, color and positions... even the local Icehockey-team is called 'the Lions'. The lion has, in other words, become the symbol of the city of Lyon today.

The site where we find Lyon today has been inhabited since the early bronze-age, but the foundation of an actual town first of all dates back to the year 43 b.d., at the time when the Roman Empire used the location as a fortress, strategically situated as an important link between what we now know as Northern France and Belgium (the Gaules country), and Italy. Before the Roman construction of a fortress on the Fourvière hill (under the direction of the lieutenant Munatius Plancus), overlooking today's city centre, Lyon was nothing more than a small gaelic village. The Roman presence, and the increased commerce and improved infrastructure that followed changed the early village into a small town. It was this gallo-roman past which was celebrated in Lyon, when the city in 1959 celebrated its 2000th anniversary.

The Romans

Already from the end of the prehistorical period Lyon made up an important commercial and logistic centre between southern and northern Europe, and it later served as an influential passway for the impressive Roman infrastructure, connecting the different Roman provinces. As the importance of Rome itself as the capital for the Roman empire started to crumble during the 1st Century A.D., Lyon actually made out one of the more important provinces competing to take over as the new Roman capital. Lyon was situated at a commercially almost perfect location, connecting Switzerland, Northern France and the Mediterranean, but also strategically the town was well protected by its distance to the vulnerable Mediterranean coastline, but still with a perfect connection to the North and the South through the Rhône-river running out in the Mediterranean Sea.

From around the year 1000 the town lived an important revival as a religious centre. The catholic church at this point had developed into a religious but also a political power, which owned an important number of buildings and territories. During the Middle Age, most of the town and the surrounding regions actually belonged to the church, which still today is visible in some parts of the architecture and territorial organisation of Lyon. Thus numerous convents and religious buildings remain from this period, and also the important concentration of gothic buildings (one of the largest concentrations in Europe) witness of this period. During the next centuries the economical and political position of the city weakened, and the town was put under the influence of the dukes of Bourgogne, north of Lyon. The commercial trafic was turned towards the north, and the important trade with the Mediterranean faded, replaced by big harbours like Nice and Marseille.