Fort de Caluire

Fort de Caluire (French pronunciation: [fɔʁ də kalɥiʁ]) was an old fortification situated in Caluire-et-Cuire. Now demolished, it was part of the first belt of forts protecting Lyon.

Built in 1831, it was connected to the Fort de Montessuy by a long chamber, from which it defended the approaches to the Croix-Rousse along the road from the Dombes.

Placed on the slope of the Saône it defended the river, along with Fort de Loyasse, Fort Duchère and Fort Saint-Jean. It was square, with a bastion at each corner.

In the 1860s a mushroom farm operated in the underground enclosure connecting the two forts, with the old bastions repurposed into underground grow-rooms.

The fort was demolished in 1933 to make way for the construction of the current Henri Cochet stadium. A few clues remain as to its location such as the present street known as the montée (rise or climb) des Forts; the entrance to fort de Caluire was at the current intersection of montée des Forts and avenue Paul Doumer.

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

Fort de Caluire ranks #7,193 of 7,787 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #509 of the 516 mapped in France. Founded 1831, it is older than 11% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 571 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. 20 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lyon, 3 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗