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A little history of Place des Jacobins in Lyon

The square | Jean Housen / CC-BY-SA
Street District François Rabelais John XXII Place des Jacobins in Lyon

Originally, it was the place du Confort, named after the old chapel Notre-Dame-du-Confort.

Nowadays, it’s the place des Jacobins, named after the Jacobins monks whose house was located to the south of the square.

Even famous French writer Rabelais (who came in Lyon in order to practice medicine between 1532 and 1534) talked about the "Confort chatterboxes", those "idlers who met on this square in order to trot out twaddle."

You know what? In this Confort convent religious gathered to find a successor to pope Clement V, in 1314

Whoa, a pretty stormy gathering! No one, among all cardinals, could make up their minds. King Louis the Quarreller’s brother, a tiny bit upset, decided to hostage cardinals during a month, so they could find a solution!

Finally, one of the cardinal, Jacques Duèze, offered his services: he became pope, John XXII...

But what about the square? It was called place de la République in the 19th century, because the Rhône préfecture moved in the old convent.

Nowadays, we can see the nice fountain made by architect Gaspard André in 1885, decorated with statues, 4 famous man from Lyon: architect Philibert Delorme, engraver Gérard Aufran, sculptor Guillaume Coustou, painter Hippolyte Flandrin.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!