Fort Montluc is a former prison located on rue Jeanne Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France.
Built between 1831 and 1835 for use as a military prison, after the invasion of the unoccupied zone of Vichy France in November 1942, the Gestapo used it as a prison, interrogation centre and internment camp for those waiting for transfer to concentration camps. It is estimated that over 15,000 people were imprisoned in Montluc, and over 900 of them were executed within it.[1]
Montluc was liberated on 24 August 1944 by FFI troops, when resistance leader Colonel Köenig, profiting from the chaos reigning in Lyon at the time, entered the Fort in a stolen German Army car disguised as a Gestapo officer and persuaded the Commandant to free the prisoners, saying that the order had come from the Gestapo Commander in Lyon, Klaus Barbie.[1]
In 1947, Montluc became a civil prison once again, finally closing in 1997[2], though the female maison d'arrêt was not closed until May 2009. The property of the Ministry of Interior from 1969, the site, which was in poor condition, was completely rebuilt between 2005 and 2007 as a new police station, which opened on 22 October 2007.[3]
In 2009, most of the prison, including the walls, the stairs and the courtyard, has been classified monument historique.[4]
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