LYONS,Saone Basin,France,Antique Map

HISTORICAL MAP CHART

LYONS (Fr. Lyon), a city of eastern France, capital of the department of Rh&ne, 315 m. S.S.E. of Paris and 218 m. N. by W. of Marseilles on the Paris-Lyon railway. Lyons, which in France is second only to Paris in commercial and military importance, is situated at the confluence of the Rhone and the Sa6ne at an altitude of 540 to 1000 ft. above sea-level. The rivers, both flowing south, are separated on the north by the hill on which lies the populous working quarter of Croix-Rousse, then by the narrow tongue of land ending in the Perrache Quarter. The peninsula thus formed is over 3 m. long and from 650 to 1000 yds. broad. It is traversed lengthwise by the finest streets of the city, the rue de la Re-publique, the rue de 1'Hotel de Ville, and the rue Victor Hugo. Where it enters Lyons the Sadne has on its right the faubourg of Vaise and on its left that of Serin, whence the ascent is made to the top of the hill of Cioix-Rousse. Farther on, its right bank is bordered by the scarped heights of Fourviere, St Irenee, Ste Foy, and St Just, leaving room only for the quays and one or two narrow streets; this is the oldest part of the city. The river sweeps in a semicircle around this eminence (410 ft. above it), which is occupied by convents, hospitals and seminaries, and has at its summit the famous church of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, the resort of many thousands of pilgrims annually. On the peninsula between the rivers, at the foot of the hill of Croix-Rousse, are the principal quarters of the town : the Terreaux, containing the h6tel de ville, and the chief commercial establishments; the wealthy residential quarter, centring round the Place Bellecour, one of the finest squares in France; and the Perrache. The Rhone and Saone formerly met on the site of this quarter, till, in the i8th century, the sculptor Perrache reclaimed it; on the peninsula thus formed stands the principal railway station, the Gare de Perrache with the Cours du Midi, the most extensive promenade in Lyons, stretching in front of it. Here, too, are the docks of the Sadne, factories, the arsenal, gas-works and prisons. The Rhone, less confined than the Saone, flows swiftly in a wide channel, broken when the water is low in spring by pebbly islets. On the right hand it skirts first St Clair, sloping upwards to Croix-Rousse, and then the districts of Terreaux, Bellecour and Perrache; on the left it has a low-lying plain, occupied by the Pare de la Tete d'Or and the quarters of Brot-teaux and Guillotiere. The park, together with its lake, comprises some 285 acres, and contains a zoological collection, botanical and pharmaceutical gardens, and the finest greenhouses in France, with unique collections of orchids, palm-trees and Cycadaceae. It is defended from the Rhone by the Quai de la Tete d'Or, while on the east the railway line to Geneva separates it from the race-course. Brotteaux is a modern residential quarter. Guillotiere to the south consists largely of workmen's dwellings, bordering wide, airy thoroughfares. To the east extend the manufacturing suburbs of Villeurbanne and Montchat. The population, displaced by the demolition of the lofty old houses and the widening of the streets on the peninsula, migrates to the left bank of the Rhone, the extension of the city into the plain of Dauphine being unhindered.

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.