Belcourt Square

Belcourt Square, located in the Preskill area, is one of the largest pedestrian squares in Europe. Its length is 310 meters and width is 200. From here begin the main streets of the quarter - leading to the city hall street of the Republic and leading to the station street Victor Hugo and street named after President Edward Herriot, which concentrates the most fashionable shops. One version says that the modern name of the square received from the vineyard, whose name in translation meant "Beautiful Yard". The vineyard was built on this site in the XII century on the orders of the Archbishop of Lyon. With the course of history, the name of the square was determined by the political fashion corresponding to a particular time. It managed to visit the square of Louis XIV, and the square of equality (an obligatory element was the guillotine in the center), and the square of Napoleon. Belcourt Square is decorated with several sculptures, among which there is an equestrian statue of King Louis XIV, created in 1825, the author of which was the sculptor Francois Lemot. If you look closely, it becomes clear that the sculptor completely forgot about the saddle. Around this detail, the townspeople composed many legends.

The pedestal of the monument to Louis XIV is decorated with allegorical images of two rivers - the Sona and the Rhone, on the banks of which Lyon stands. Decorative elements were made in 1720 by the sculptors Kustu brothers.