Fort de la Duchere, Military fortress in 9th arrondissement of Lyon, France
Fort de la Duchère is a military fortress in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon featuring five bastions arranged in a star pattern built during the 1840s-1850s. Today it houses sports facilities including a stadium and athletics hall that serve the local community.
Built between 1844 and 1851, the fortress was designed to protect Lyon from attacks approaching via Paris and Burgundy roads. After military decommissioning in 1957 it served as an army recruitment center and later sheltered Algerian refugees.
The site marks where 39 resistance fighters were executed in 1944 after conviction by a military tribunal during the French occupation. This tragic event remains part of how people remember this location in the city.
The site is accessible by public transport and located on a hill, so visitors should expect some climbing. The sports facilities inside operate regularly, giving a sense of the active daily use of the transformed space.
After closure the fortress provided shelter to Algerian refugees, a lesser-known chapter in its later role. This shows how the structure adapted to meet urgent humanitarian needs of the era.
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