Monday April 3rd
This
morning we successfully negotiated the local train system to
reach our destination, the Croix-Rousse Neighbourhood. Famous for its
architecture and history, this neighbourhood was the traditional home
of the 'canuts,'
silk textile weavers.Croix-Rousse
became the main silk production area in Lyon in the early 19th
century.
The
industry gave birth to a unique architecture: the canuts' apartments
had very high ceilings to accommodate the newly introduced Jacquard
looms, which were up to 4 metres high; tall windows gave the
necessary natural lighting for the delicate work; and mezzanines
provided space for family life. The first revolt of the canuts
in 1831 is regarded as one of the first social conflicts of the
industrial era.
We
visited a still functioning 19th
century silk and gold weaving workshop. There are a number of these
workshops and restoration of Jaquard fabrics for historic sites is
the main work undertaken in them.
We
visited Le Mur Des Canuts...an
amazing 3D mural depicting the daily life of local residents and the
silk weavers for which the town is renown. It has been updated over
the years to reflect the changes that occurred. The latest update in
2013 and this latest version has given the mural a dimension of urban
equity and sustainability.
The mural is painted on a completely flat wall but looks three dimensional.
A close up of the mural.
On
a much smaller scale murals seem to have spread throughout the
area...
It's
been a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed lunch in an outdoor cafe
and walked down Rue de Republique and on to our apartment...some of our favourite sights
along the way...
The Rhone
Our
pedometer reading today is just over 10 k's.
Lyon
has been interesting and I've just discovered that our next stop,
Avignon is on the Rhone too. We head there tomorrow.
