Fort Saint-Jean (Lyon)

Fort Saint-Jean
Fort Maupetit
Lyon

View of fort at night from the quays of the Sâone river
Fort Saint-Jean
Fort Maupetit
Coordinates 45°27′40″N 4°29′06″E / 45.461°N 4.485°E / 45.461; 4.485
Type Fort
Site history
Built 1834
Part of the primary belt of forts of Lyon

The Fort Saint-Jean is located in the 1is arrondissement of Lyon and part of the primary fort belt of Lyon, which includes Fort de Loyasse, and the now destroyed forts of Fort Duchère and Fort de Caluire

History

The fort was not initially a bastion but was built as a component of the enclosure of the Croix-Rousse, at the beginning of 16th century, to protect from the Swiss.

In 1636 the Halincourt door was built.

The fort was completed in the 18th century, but construction of the current building began in 1834. Fort Saint-Jean has an area of 17,000 meters squared and dominates the Saône river to 40m above the river.

In 1932, the Military Health Service had its regional pharmacy there.

On 2 September 1944, when Lyon was occupied by the Germans, a group of volunteers gathered at the fort to prevent the occupiers from destroying the bridges over the Saône.

In 1984 the fort was occupied by the Veterinary Service of the Armed Forces.

Today

View of the fort from the quay of Sâone

Rehabilitated in 2001 by architect Pierre Vurpas, Fort St. Saint-Jean was home, since 2004, to the National School of Public Treasury (ENT) which became the National School of Public Finance (ENFiP) on 4 August 2010. This school trains public finance controllers. It also hosts cultural events occasionally.

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.