Fort de Bron

Fort de Bron
Lyon in France

Entrance of fort de Bron.
Fort de Bron
Coordinates 45°43′56″N 4°55′18″E / 45.732187°N 4.921567°E / 45.732187; 4.921567
Type Fort
Site history
Built 1875–1877

The fort du Bron is a fortification built between 1875 and 1877. Located on the territory of the commune of Source. It is part of the second belt of fortifications around Lyon including VANCAR, Fort de Feyzin and Fort du Mont Verdun.

History

Its history is linked to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Indeed, as a result of Treaty of Frankfurt which ended the war 1870, France lost the Alsace and also Lorraine, reducing its borders. To ensure the best defense of Lyon, it was decided to build a strong cordon of forts encircling the city to the east, which included the forts of Bron, of VANCAR, 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 Source was therefore included in the crown of detached forts, to protect the stronghold of Lyon.

From 1875 to 1885, the following was built successively around the town  :

Fort Bron is the only one remaining, built 1875 to 1877.

Fort Bron was completed with two annexed batteries Lessivas and Parilly. But the advances in artillery quickly made these forts, and therefore that of Source, ineffective, inadequate and unable to defend Lyon.

In addition World War I did not take place in this region, so this fort was then only used as a barracks and to warehouse equipment. 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 until its decommissioning in 1963.

Characteristics

Role

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.

Location

The fort is located at shooting distance by antique cannon from Lyon (or 7 to 8   km), to 212   meters above sea level on a hill called Source.

Composition

This polygonal structure is surrounded by a deep ditch approximately 6 to 8   meters to 12 to 14   meters wide, the ditch being defended by caponiers.

The different buildings (some being buried under a mass of earth) that make up the 1 500m² of the estate, can accommodate 841 men in war.

The bridge that allows access to the rear entrance of the fort is unique: it is retractable sideways, sliding on steel rollers.

Land and zones

A judgment of expropriation dating from 10 June 1874 releases 24 Hectares for the construction of the fort. Like other forts, military land was bounded by stone posts located around it, their hats on an engraving showing the direction of the next point.

Armament

The fort, whose cannons can reach targets located 6 km away (with an extended range up to 8 km, in 1880, with Bange guns), was equipped with  :

a total of 45 pieces of artillery.

Garrison and housing

841 people were housed in wartime  :

Ten horses is also present on site.

Officers and NCOs were housed in the second floor barracks, upstairs. The rest of the men occupied the first floor of the barracks at a rate of 56 soldiers to a room.

The fort was also equipped with two kitchens, a bakery, a well, a cistern, latrines, a forge and shops.

Disciplinary premises are also placed in the center of the fort, including a guard room and four cells.

Construction

The order is given 8 May 1874 by the General Cissey, from Ministry of War to begin construction of the Fort of Bron.

The carved stone comes from Monts d'Or and from Trept.

The construction began soon from 1875 until 1877 for a total cost of 3,014,578 francs  :

Today

The city of Grand Lyon bought the fort in 1975 to build two water tanks, occupying 50% of the built area of the fort and 300 metres of a South divide as a spillway for security. On 23 September 1976 at the Extra-Municipal Planning Commission (CEMU), the COURLY proposed to transform the ditches to public landfill, to abandon the rubble, and to finally abort the project. The army still retained 6 hectares of woodland (including some of ditches and the Diamond gap) in order to build an extension of the School of health of the armies of Lyon-Bron. Several attempts to negotiate with the army to retain all the fort intact failed, so an agreement was signed between the mayor of Bron André Sousi and the Prime Minister Raymond Barre, proposing the purchase of the land in issue (9,878   m²) by the municipality at the price of 10   francs per m², at 98 780   francs.

The purchase allowed the creation in 1983 of a fitness trail around the fort.

Fort Bron welcomes every two years a theatrical event  : the Biennial Fort Bron ; for two months, a theater company takes possession of the premises.[1] In 2009, The Odyssey of Homer drew nearly 17,000 spectators 15,000 in 2011.[2]

Fort Bron is managed by an association created March 25, 1982, which organizes free tours on the first Sunday of each month. The association also participates in Heritage Days and organizes a craft exhibition in early October. A museum has also been built there.

The museum Société Lyonnaise History of Aviation and Aerospace Documentation is installed in three rooms of the barracks on the second floor.[3]

The fort is also used as a filming location for video clips, movie scenes or interviews.[4] The TV movie The gate of heaven by Denys Granier-Deferre, broadcast 1993, and Under guard, the TV movie Luc Beraud, broadcast in 2002, and the short films Masquerade from Nicolas Brossette, broadcast 2007, and The décarquilleurs from Jean-Paul Lebesson[5] were partly shot at the fort.

Références

  1. ↑ Bénévent Tosseri. "A Bron, ripailler au cœur du spectacle". Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Près de 15 000 spectateurs avaient participé à la précédente Biennale du Fort de Bron". Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "L'espace souvenir". Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Les coulisses de Dishonored, partie 4 : Finalisation on YouTube
  5. ↑ "Cinéma-Cargo : "Les Décarquilleurs"". Retrieved 10 February 2013.

Bibliography

External links

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