Ox or Bull Street?

Romainbehar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rue du Boeuf, located in the Saint-Jean district, is a popular tourist attraction due to its remarkable character. This entirely paved street is lined exclusively with houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

The origin of the street

It is believed that it was built when residents of the upper part of Fourvière Hill began to experience water supply problems following the gradual disappearance of the Roman aqueducts.

The name of this street comes from a small statue located at the corner formed by this street and the Place Neuve Saint-Jean. It is an ox, although it has all the characteristics of a bull !

Thorel House

Formerly known as Tramassac, this street now continues south under the same name until the year 1586. It was at this time that it adopted its current name, taken from the sign on the doctor's house. Thorel

Louis Thorel had obtained his official letters of nobility on March 13, 1601, but well before that, between 1551 and 1571, he had already taken the initiative to have a relief representation of a bull sculpted on the corner of his house, at the intersection of Rue Tramassac (later Rue du Bœuf) and Place Neuve Saint-Jean. This action formally preceded the official recognition of his nobility, but it was within his rights. Indeed, the Thorel coat of arms, identical to that of the Italian Torelli family, consisted of a furious bull in gold on a blue background, which constitutes a speaking coat of arms.

In the eyes of the inhabitants of the street, the representation of the bull was perceived as that of an ox. Consequently, from the year 1571, the house was commonly referred to as the "House of the Ox".

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Pierre Bossan

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