Along the Rhone, an unusual yet very real story emerges, that of a floating morgue, symbol of a bygone era. Let's go back in time to the 19th century, where this curious installation marked the collective imagination with its singular character and unexpected twists.
The idea of preserving the bodies of the deceased on barges moored near the hospital may seem pragmatic at first glance, but the reality of the time raises many questions. This floating morgue, built in the middle of the last century, served as the final resting place for the remains of the city, until a flood in 1852 tragically swept the deceased downstream.
Faced with this setback, the local authorities undertook the construction of a new dedicated boat. This quickly became a place of Sunday curiosity, attracting crowds and families to the nearby bridges, eager to contemplate this strange spectacle of floating corpses. But fate decided otherwise: in 1910, a new flood carried away the barge again, moving it considerably away from its initial mooring point.
This series of events finally put an end to this macabre practice. The city, after half a century of strange mortuary navigations, decided to turn this dark page in its history.
Thus ends the story of the floating morgue of the Rhone, an enigmatic saga that has captivated minds for decades, but which, today, remains like a strange relic of the past, testimony to a bygone era.
History in comics
Les Rues de Lyon is a twelve-page monthly newspaper that offers a complete story in comic strip form each month on the history of Lyon. Entirely from Lyon, it presents true stories created by local authors and also printed on site.
The comic strip available below tells the story of this floating morgue.
