Fort du Bruissin, Fortress in Francheville, France

Fort du Bruissin is a six-sided masonry fort in Francheville, surrounded by a defended ditch. A gatehouse at the head of a bridge over the ditch leads into the entry court, faced by a two-level vaulted barracks covered with earth. The barracks terrace, or cavalier, was shielded by an earth rampart.

Built from 1878 to 1881, Fort du Bruissin was the thirteenth fort in the second ring around Lyon, a response to the 1870 Franco-German war. It trained future officers during World War I, and German troops used it in World War II as an ammunition depot and headquarters. The commune of Francheville bought it in 1981.

Since 1991 the fort has housed a "Cité des Artistes", with artists using its halls as studios; it later became a contemporary art centre run by the Régie Culturelle du Fort du Bruissin. Concerts labelled "Scène Découverte" have been held in an old powder magazine since 2016, and the family festival "Les Estivales" takes place here each summer.

The fort sits atop the highest point in Francheville and is easily reached by public transport from central Lyon. The site is walkable, with paths leading through the wooded grounds surrounding the fortification.

The fort was number 13 in the Army's designation of the Lyon forts, and its hexagonal plan was armed with thirty artillery pieces, a mix of 155mm and 120mm guns mounted on the cavalier. Close defence came from revolving cannons in large caponiers at the corners, reached by subterranean passages.