Fort de Bron

The Fort de Bron is a fortification built between 1875 and 1877, located in the commune of Bron. It is part of the second belt of fortifications around Lyon, which also includes Fort de Vancia, Fort de Feyzin and Fort du Mont Verdun.

Its history is linked to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Indeed, as a result of the Treaty of Frankfurt which ended the 1870 war, France lost Alsace and Lorraine, reducing its borders. To ensure the defence of Lyon, it built a strong cordon of forts encircling the city to the east, which included the forts of Bron, Vancia, Feyzin and Mont Verdun. These forts were equipped with significant amounts of artillery with all the hardware, staff, and powder storage that this then entailed.

When a defensive reorganization occurred in France in 1874, the commune of Bron was therefore included in the crown of detached forts, to protect the stronghold of Lyon. From 1875 to 1885, the following were built successively around the town:

Fort de Bron, placed on the heights above the Rhone valley, covering as far as Saint-Priest; Batteries at Lessivas and Parilly; A walled enclosure with four bastions. The Fort de Bron is the only one remaining.

Fort de Bron was completed with two annexed batteries at Lessivas and Parilly. But advances in artillery quickly made these forts, and therefore that of Bron, ineffective, inadequate and unable to defend Lyon. During World War I, which did not see fighting in this region, the fort was used only as a barracks and equipment warehouse. During the Second World War the Germans used it as a prison. The French army used it until 1962 as an annex of the air base; it was decommissioned in 1963.

The establishment of this fort allowed the City of Lyon to protect itself from enemy attacks from the east, dominating the surrounding plain, the fort covered Décines, Chassieu and Saint-Priest.

The fort is located at shooting distance by antique cannon from Lyon (i.e. 7 to 8 km), at 212 metres above sea level on a hill at Bron.

This polygonal structure is surrounded by a deep moat six to eight metres deep and twelve to fourteen metres wide, defended by caponiers. The buildings (some underground) of the 1,500 m2 site could accommodate 841 men in war. The bridge that allows access to the rear entrance of the fort is unique: it retracts sideways, sliding on steel rollers.

Text adapted from “Fort de Bron” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fort de Bron ranks #6,293 of 7,787 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #472 of the 516 mapped in France. Founded 1875, it is older than 6% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 571 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lyon, 8 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗