City: Built where the Rhône and
the Saône merge lays Lyon it is one of the largest cities
of France.
The city is, amongst other things, recommended to visitors
for its rich historical past. In Roman times Lyon was called
Lugdunum, the capital of Gaul. The Roman theatre in the city
is to date the biggest in France. Many other old buildings
and narrow passages, called traboules, testify to Lyon’s
rich past, today of course successfully combined with modern
architecture. In the Renaissance period the city was a centre
for the silk industry.
A fine additional attraction for Tourists to Lyon is
that it has been for many years a centre of fine foods. A
delicious regional speciality eaten alongside one of the excelling
wines from the region is highly recommended to every hungry
soul.
Today 474,946 inhabitants (2008) live in the city.
Bldg.: Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste-et-Saint-Étienne
(Cathédrale Saint-Jean).
This Roman Catholic cathedral was built between 1180
and 1460. Because of the extended period of construction there
is a mixture of building styles including the Romanesque and
Gothic styles. Many important events happened in this church;
for example: the First Council of Lyon (1245), the internment
of the body of King Louis IX of France after his death from
the plague (or typhus), the Second Council of Lyon (1274 –
called together by Pope Gregorius X), the crowning of Pope
John XXII in 1316, the marriage between King Henry IV and
Marie de' Medici, Cardinal Richelieu received his cardinal
beret here and lastly the reception of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
and his wife Josephine in 1805.
God’s name: God’s
name can be found here at the top of an altar piece. The name
is written in Hebrew: from right to left as JHWH.
