- 12 rue burdeau, 69001 Lyon
- What you see
- What you need to know
Note the inscription "Patrie" on the pediment of this beautiful monument, and the one that pays homage to Auguste-Laurent Burdeau on the pedestal "1851 BURDEAU 1894". But notice above all that the niche is empty. The statue (as can be seen on a photo archive) is no longer there?
The reverse of the monument states that Burdeau began his academic career as a city scholarship holder at the Lycée de Lyon in 1869. After being admitted to the École Normale Supérieure, he quickly joined the ranks of the army as a volunteer in 1870. After his military service in 1871, he turned to education, becoming a professor of philosophy in 1873. He later entered the political sphere, becoming a deputy for the Rhône in 1885. In addition, he also served as Minister of the Navy at a later date, although the specific year is not mentioned.
History of the monument
In 1900, after Burdeau's death, a committee was formed to raise funds by public subscription for the construction of a monument in his honor. This committee proposed to the city Alfred Boucher's project, which presented a model at the bottom of the Staircase of the Festivities. However, the artist was forced to revise his initial project to reduce costs. Finally, the first choice fell on a monumental fountain.
June 28, 1903 marked the inauguration of the monument, followed by a banquet bringing together 500 guests at the Croix-Rousse, at the Brasserie Dupuis.
During the period from 1942 to 1944, under the Vichy regime, the statue was melted down (as were the majority of statues in French cities as part of the mobilization of non-ferrous metals), but the fountain and the aedicule remain in place.
- Archive images
