English presentation

The missions
The Lyon City's Archives are a public office open to everyone, which perform two duties. On the one hand they take part in the building up and in the diffusion of the Lyon's records. On the other hand they answer the administrative requirements of the local authorities and contribute to guarantee citizen rights. The two missions of the record office are to produce proof and to keep trace. It achieves this by handling information and preserving the patrimony. The organisation of the City annals is carried out through five functions :
- gather the documents produced by the local public offices
- preserve the documents
- facilitate their use by creating search tools
- distribute the documents
- eventually make them accessible through exhibitions, school group visits, activities and various publishings …  

13 linear kilometers of shelving
Archives have been kept in Lyon since the 13th century ; the documents occupy some 14 linear kilometers of shelves. These records take account of the activities accomplished by the local governement of the city, from 1294 to the present. They deal mainly with the Lyon area. In addition to the public records produced from the beginning by the Lyon City's administration, the Archives hold valuable private records deposited by families, companies, architects, photographers …, which enrich the historical Lyon's heritage. The photographic records are particularly numerous and valuable : over 100,000 photographs among which there are 10,000 postcards, 30,000 posters, over 100,000 maps and drawings, some miniature works.

Maps of Lyon (from 16th to 20th century)
Exhibition’s catalogue « Fragile mémoire »

A number of search tools and photographs are online on the web site.

How to start your research ("Faire une recherche")
Search our online catalogues to identify the references of documents relevant to your enquiry. You will then be able to consult them when you come to our reading room.

The site of Perrache ("Le site de Perrache")
Located at Perrache the Lyon City's Archives opened to visitors on October 1, 2001, as they moved into a newly reconstructed building, which had been the first postal sorting office of Lyon. This building was erected in 1905-1906 by the architect Jean CLAPOT in the neo classical style of the time. It was permanently closed by the Post administration in 1993, then it was later refitted by the architect Albert CONSTANTIN and by the architects’ office Atelier de la Rize. The aim of the architects was to further the preservation and the communication of the documents through a functionalist architecture while keeping the outside walls dating from the beginning of the 20th century. The reconstruction is not yet finished. The second phase of the project will take place in 2004 with the building of a wide glass facade, which will open onto a square called the « Place des Archives ». At the same time the reception hall and some store rooms will be enlarged, and an area for cultural activities will be created. The new site of the Lyon City's Archives is located near the train station of Perrache and in the heart of a flourishing area which spreads to the confluence of the Rhône and of the Saône rivers. The Confluence area, which was claimed from the rivers by the end of 18th century thanks to the energy of a man named Michel Antoine PERRACHE, is presently the aim of town developments lead by the political authorities.

A brief history of the Lyon City's Archives ("Un peu d’histoire")
The preservation of the records relating to the City of Lyon has been for a long time a matter of concern for the local government. The City Archives exist as a proof of the rights of the community and to run the properties. In 1320 the town got some freedoms and privileges through a treaty negociated between the King of France and the Archbishop of Lyons, such as the right to meet, to choose representatives, to tax and to …keep archives. From the beginning of 14th century to the mid 17th century when the Town Hall was completed, the archives followed the numerous peregrinations of the local council : Saint-Jacquême Chapel (St Nizier Church), Hôtel de la Rue Longue, Hôtel de Milan (in the rue Grenette), Hôtel de la Couronne, in the rue de la Poulaillerie (where the present Printing Museum is located). After these times of unstability a decision was made in 1646 to build a Town Hall in which a special room was dedicated to preserve the archives.This was the beginning of a long period of stability for the archives. The end of the old Régime was another thriving period : making of leather bookbindings to preserve the records, appointment of a regular archivist, first historical searches. Marc Antoine CHAPPE achieved the detailed inventory of the archives of Lyon, of which 22 volumes are still kept. During the French Revolution the archivists went on with their work. Through the decree of March 24, 1852 the Prefect took control over the local and the departmental archives ; the local council was suppressed and the local archives were joined with the departmental archives. As a result of moving the Prefect’s appartments into the Town Hall, the archives were transferred into the attics where their preservation became less secure. On December 26, 1825, some parish registers of the Saint-Nizier and Ainay churches were destroyed by fire. In 1890 the City Archives became autonomous again but remained in the attics. In 1974 they were moved from the Town Hall into the Palais Saint-Jean, the former archbishop’s palace, near the Saint-Jean Cathedral.

Opening hours and closure dates of the reading room

Consultation of documents
Visitors of all nationalities have direct and free access to the various information sources. At your first visit you will be asked for a proof of identity (identity card, passport, driving licence) to enable us to register you as a reader. A Reader’s Ticket will be given to you at this time. Reader’s Tickets are not transferable, are valid for the all calendar year and can be renewed on request. Documents can be consulted in the reading room which is located on the first floor of the building, according to security laws, in order to ensure their preservation. Copies may be consulted in place of the original documents whenever their condition requires it. The original of documents which have been microfilmed and numerized cannot be consulted. Microfilms and microfiches are in open access. They mainly deal with parish and civil status registers, with archives before 1789 and with registers of town council debates. Our data base contains over 30,000 electronic images which are available on line in the reading room. The public archives produced or collected by the town administration in the course of its business are opened to general public inspection. However some of them have specific periods of closure, according to the nature and the contents of documents. The Records Act of January 3, 1979 and its Application Decrees of December 3, 1979 give the legal terms for free distribution. See Direction des Archives de France.
The City Archives also keep holdings of private origin which may be bound to special access and copying conditions. The researcher who would like to consult a private holding which is not freely accessible must send a written request to the donor, the depositor or to the rightful owners, through the Archives Administration.

Record copying
The Lyon City's Archives can provide copies of record documents if their condition allows it. Copies will be charged for and will be made by a member of our staff, after permission from the manager of the reading room. We will not allow copies of bound record documents and books, nor of documents that are fragile and may be spoilt. Copies of microfilmed and numerized documents can be done with the copying machines provided for, according to our present conditions. Photographic and numeric copies can be made on request by our photographer. Readers can make copies of documents with their own camera providing they have permission to do so and they observe certain conditions.