Lyon

Sister cities

• Gothenburg Municipality
• Pécs
• Beersheba
• Mykolaiv
• Aleppo
• Yokohama
• St. Louis
• Bălți
• Guangzhou
• Varna
• Samarkand
• Jericho

History

The name of the city has taken the forms Lugdon, Luon, and since the 13th century, Lyon. The Gallic Lugdun or Lugdunon that was Latinized in Roman as Lugdunum is composed of two words. The first may be the name of the Celtic god Lug (in charge of order and law), or the derived word lugon, meaning "crow" (the crow being the messenger of Lug), but might also be another word lug, meaning "light". The second is dunos ('fortress', 'hill'). The name thus may designate the hill of Fourvière, on which the ancient city of Lyon is founded, but could mean "hill of the god Lug", "hill of the crows" or "shining hill". Alternatively Julius Pokorny associates the first part of the word with the Indo-European radical *lūg ('dark, black, swamp'), the basis of the toponyms Ludza in Latvia, Lusatia in Germany (from Sorbian Łužica), and several places in the Czech Republic named Lužice; it could then also be compared to Luze in Franche-Comté and various hydronyms such as Louge. Further down, in the current Saint-Vincent district, was the Gallic village of Condate, probably a simple hamlet of sailors or fishermen living on the banks of the Saône. Condate is a Gallic word meaning "confluence", from which the Confluence district gets its name. In Roman times the city was called Caput Galliae, meaning "capital of the Gauls". As an homage to this title, the Archbishop of Lyon is still called the Primate of Gaul. During the revolutionary period, Lyon was renamed Commune-Affranchie ("Emancipated Commune") on 12 October 1793 by a decree of the Convention Nationale. It resumed its name in 1794, after the end of the Terror. Lyon is called Liyon in Franco-Provençal. According to the historian Dio Cassius, in 43 BC, the Roman Senate ordered the creation of a settlement for Roman refugees of war…

Geography

The Rhône and Saône converge to the south of the historic city centre, forming a peninsula – the "Presqu'île" – bounded by two large hills to the west and north and a large plain eastward. Place Bellecour is located on the Presqu'île between the two rivers and is the third-largest public square in France. The broad, pedestrian-only Rue de la République leads north from Place Bellecour. The northern hill is La Croix-Rousse, known as "the hill that works" because it is traditionally home to many small silk workshops, an industry for which the city has long been renowned. The western hill is Fourvière, known as "the hill that prays" because it is the location for Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, several convents, and Archbishop's residence. The district, Vieux Lyon, also hosts the Tour métallique (a highly visible TV tower, replicating the last stage of the Eiffel Tower) and one of the city's railways. Fourvière, along with portions of the Presqu'île and much of La Croix-Rousse, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mean temperature in Lyon in the coldest month is in January and in the warmest month in July is . Precipitation is adequate year-round, at an average of ; the winter months are the driest. The highest recorded temperature was on 13 August 2003 while the lowest recorded temperature was on 22 December 1938.

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,047
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,850
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,197
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,015
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,687
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,652
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,521
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,437

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2025-05-06
  8 km W of Chapareillan, France
• M 3.4 — 2013-04-06
  1 km SSW of Poisy, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-06-02
  1 km W of Épagny, France
• M 3 — 2008-01-05
  2 km N of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, France
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-18
  3 km SE of Arlanc, France
• M 3.1 — 2007-07-09
  France