Place de la Croix-Rousse, Pedestrian square in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, France
The place de la Croix-Rousse is a pedestrian square in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, at the heart of the Croix-Rousse neighborhood. It is divided into two sections, a triangular northern part and a trapezoidal southern part, lined with buildings and open to foot traffic.
The Croix-Rousse area became the center of Lyon's silk weaving trade in the 19th century, home to the canuts who were known for their labor uprisings. The square has changed over the decades but has always remained the gathering point of the neighborhood.
A stone statue of Joseph Marie Jacquard, the inventor who transformed the weaving industry, stands at the center of the square. It connects the place to the silk weavers, known as canuts, whose work shaped this neighborhood for centuries.
The square is easy to reach on foot from the Croix-Rousse metro station on line C, which is very close. Since the whole area is car-free, you can walk around without any difficulty.
The current Jacquard statue on the square is not the original one: the bronze version made by Denis Foyatier and unveiled in 1901 was melted down during World War II under the Vichy regime. A new version in stone, slightly different in appearance, was made by Élie Ottavry and placed in 1947.
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