Lyon and architecture… a love affair that’s lasted for centuries! In the midst of a major transformation, most recently with the opening of a new temple of gastronomy in a historic location, or the new Chalet du Parc de la Tête d’Or, Lyon is reinventing itself year after year. Take a look up and down the streets, and you’ll find plenty of architectural treasures to rediscover. Well , this one’s a long way from an architectural masterpiece like the Théâtre des Céléstins or Lyon’s Hôtel de Ville. And yet it is! Behind its orange facade and imposing skeleton, there’s an astonishing detail that deserves our full attention. Look closely and count the windows… you’ve just unlocked the first mystery of the Maison Brunet.
An open-air calendar
One, two, three… sixty-six, sixty-seven, sixty-eight… two hundred and forty-five, two hundred and forty-six… three hundred and sixty-four, three hundred and sixty-five, the count is good! In fact, the building houses 365 windows representing the days of the year. But that’s not all! Its architecture covers 52 apartments on 7 floors, with 4 main entrances representing the weeks of the year, the days of the week and the seasons.
The story begins 200 years ago. Claude Brunet, a wealthy silk merchant, imagined an original building. Construction began in 1825, but unfortunately his ambitions were too much for him. He ran up huge debts, lost everything in the business, and saw his work sold at auction in 1831… His dream became nothing more and nothing less than an architectural curiosity, forgotten over time…
A bastion of revolt
But the house quickly found a second life. During the Canuts revolts of 1831 and 1834, the building became a veritable fortress. Its countless windows were transformed into observation posts. Well-hidden traboules allowed insurgents to circulate or flee. Faced with this improvised resistance, the army encircles the building to become the scene of terrible clashes between the two clans…
The next time you take a stroll in Croix-Rousse, look up to the sky and enjoy the Maison Brunet. You’ll never see this building again in the same… season!