Happy International Women's Day! Wednesday March 8 was another cloudy day with a bit of rain and a high of only 12C.
We decided to explore the Croix-Rousse area, just north of the city centre, where we are located. Croix- Rousse is the hill in the 4th arrondissement in the northern part of the Presqu'île. The Croix-Rousse has two areas: the slopes (les pentes) and the plateau (a flat top area) of the hill. The pentes is more bohemian, and the plateau has a more village-like atmosphere. To get to the top, there are a series of steps going up Montée de la Grande Côte.
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| Street art |
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| Starting our climb up the slopes of Croix-Rousse |
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| Looking down part of the way up |
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| At the plateau looking down |
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| Lyon below |
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| Tax the rich poster |
We walked through one of Lyon's biggest outdoor markets, the Marché de la Croix-Rousse. It consists of a series of food stands that are spread out over a 1 km stretch of Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse. Lots of choice for fruit, vegetables, meat and cheese. As well as the stands, there are a number of food stores on the street. We passed some amazing looking butchers (meat rules in Lyon!), some cheese stores and one fish store.
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| Before the Mural |
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| The first iteration- 1987. The mural had architecture that mirrored that of the quarter. The largest painted wall in Europe became exceptionally popular and was included in the living heritage of Lyon. |
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| Updated in 1997. Motivated by its success which made Lyon the French capital of mural painting, the painters changed the buildings, brightened the facades and had shops opening on the ground floors. |
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In 2013, CitéCréation updated the architecture, facades and shops, aged the characters
fifteen years, and gave the new version a dimension of urban equity and sustainability. |
It had started to rain and we decided to stop for lunch. The museum we were going to visit was closed between 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. We decided to eat at Daniel & Denise, a bouchon Lyonnais.
Bouchons are small friendly bistros that serve hearty fare, using regional produce. Only 22 in the city are actually certified as bouchons, out of a reputed 4000 restaurants in the city. Daniel & Denise is one of the certified bouchons and its chef, Joseph Viola is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF). There are three locations of the restaurant.
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| Outside Daniel & Denise in Croix-Rousse |
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| The bar |
The first page of the menu listed the purveyors of all its food and noted that its desserts are all homemade. Alain had a delicious entrée of Le velouté de champignons des bois, oeuf poché et chips de châtaigne (wood mushrooms velouté, poached egg and chestnut chips). I had Les Oeufs Français de plain air, en meurette, petits oignons, lardons, champignons, croûtons (Fresh eggs poached in red wine with small onions, lardons, mushrooms and croutons). Both dishes had superb flavours.
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| Wood beams with small open kitchen. Lots of copper pots and homey atmosphere |
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| Alain with his delicious entrée -the flavours were excellent |
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| Photo of small open kitchen |
We then went to the Maison des Canuts (Silk Workers' House). The Maison operates both as a museum and a workshop, outlining the history of silk making in Lyon. Guided tours are available, but not when we were there.
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Outside of the small museum
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| Exit from museum in the back through a shop selling scarves from the area |
The museum provides an overview of five centuries of silk making, covering the historical, artistic, technical and social aspects, marked by the silk workers' revolts in 1831and 1834. There were handouts in English translating the history set out on the walls. The silk industry started in Lyon in 1536, thanks to King François I who gave Lyon the privilege to weave the silk. The origin of the word canut is probably from "canette" (spool), which is part of the loom.
Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), born in Lyon, was the inventor of the Jacquard loom, which served as the impetus for the technological revolution of the textile industry and is the basis of the modern automatic loom. Jacquard had first formed the idea for his loom in 1790, but his work was cut short by the French Revolution, in which he fought on the side of the Revolutionaries in the defence of Lyon. He continued his work and in 1804-05, he introduced an attachment to a loom that used interchangeable punch cards that controlled the weaving of the cloth, so that any desired pattern could be obtained. Workers at first thought jobs would be affected, but the loom gained general acceptance, and by 1812 there were 11,000 in use in France.
There was a large Jacquard loom and numerous instruments used in silk making in the Museum.
A canut is an independent weaver and he owns his loom(s). He may employ journeymen and apprentices A canut sleeps and works at the workshop. The price of weaving is paid by the silk merchants (the "soyeux"). In the 1830s, one out of two inhabitants in Lyon work in the "Fabrique" (silk industry). At that time there were 400 merchants (the "soyeux"); 8000 canuts and 20,000 companions.
The price paid depended on: the kind of weave, the difficulty of the pattern, the possible defects, the agreement with the merchants.
In 1830, the soierie Lyonnaise (silk industry of Lyon) faces a slowdown in its activity. The merchants take advantage of the situation to decrease processing costs. Then on March 26, 1831 a law to raise taxes is implemented. In the fall of 1831, economic activity picks up and the canuts demand an increase in processing costs. 80 representatives of the 8000 canuts are chosen and negotiations start between 22 soyeux and 22 canuts on October 21, under the Prefect of Lyon's authority. A new tariff is published, but is largely ignored. An industrial tribunal rules in early November that the tariff is not legally compulsory. The non application of the tariff is the cause of the revolt of 1831. There are canut demonstrations on November 19,1831.
On November 21, the looms stop and there is a demonstration to demand the tariff application. The National Guard (made up of soyeux) is sent to La Croix Rousse. Later that morning, the canuts march down the Montée de la Grande Côté (where we had walked earlier). They were unarmed. The National Guard fires without any warning. Several men are killed. The canuts go back to the Croix Rousse to get weapons and built barricades. Banners proclaim "Live working or Die Fighting". On November 23, the protest stops, as the Prefect has agreed to renegotiate the tariff. The number of victims during this first revolt was around 600 people.
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| The looms, silk thread and other tools |
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| Huge Jacquard loom |
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| Cannetiere a Pedale. XIXème siècle |
There was another section about the second revolt of the silk workers from April 9-14, 1834. Their motto was "Association. Résistance. Courage!" It was a "bloody week".
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| Repression was brutal after the revolt and a number of the insurgents were sent to prison or deported. |
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| Main room with looms and history |
It was a very interesting museum focussing on the social history of the silk industry in Lyon.
The view from Croix-Rousse. Heading back down.
On the way down we passed a poster for Wednesday's strike.
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| Mars 8 Grève Féministe |
We returned to the apartment and Alain made an excellent dinner of trout, zucchini, tomatoes, onions with a green salad. We finished our bottle of cider and had an apple tart for dessert. If only the rain would stop...
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