L’Île Barbe

We took a 30 minute bus ride (two buses actually) and visited L’Île Barbe, a little island with a big history in the middle of the Saône River.  During the construction of Metro line D in 1984-5, the workers found evidence that the area nearby has been occupied since the Neolithic period (5,000 – 2,500 BC). Maybe that explains the name of the island: “Barbarian Island.” In any case Charlemagne is said to have been “captivated” by this lovely, little island. It’s easy to see why - even today; it is a peaceful oasis covered with dense foliage and a few, rather stately, buildings and just minutes away from one of the biggest cities in France.

Map of island - notice that the north end of the island is private.

Narrow bridges on either side of the island provide the only pedestrian and vehicle access.

The island with the Saône.

The island became the site of a powerful abbey from Merovingian times (about 475 – 750 AD) with about 100 monks living there during the Carolingian period (about 750–1100 AD). It passed into secular management in the mid-16th century, was seriously damaged during the Wars of Religion (later in the 16th century), and fell into oblivion after the French Revolution.

To give you an idea of what it used to look like.

Still looks pretty formidable.  The Bell Tower is about all that's left of the abbey now.

You have to look hard to find architectural evidence of the abbey today although the guide books say it can be found in the walls of private houses and under some of the dense foliage. We took a lot of pictures of existing buildings, as you can see, and hope that they can convey a bit of the charm of the island.

Residences on the private end of the island.

The Chateau de Valeville - dates back to 16th century and still in use.

We saw a lovely looking lady go in and out of this home.

This auberge is right across from the lady's house.  Looks like a nice place to stay - don't you agree?

 We also walked through a park area where a man was practicing boules, children were playing in the playground, a family was enjoying their barbecued lunch, and people were just sitting on benches and enjoying the surroundings. It is a little humbling to know that we may have walked in Charlemagne’s footsteps and most certainly walked along paths used by monks hundreds of years ago.

Looking towards the bridge from the park.  The man practicing boules is out of the picture on the right.

David in the park.  Pretty peaceful, as you can see.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around, we went off the island and had lunch at a boulangerie in the central place across from the 9th Arrondissement Marie (town hall for the 9th district in Lyon). We walked over to the Marie building and noticed the plaque saying that Charles IX (reigned from 1560 to 1574) and his mother once spent the night in the building. Then we walked down a narrow little street and saw a plaque explaining the inscription next to it; it seems that the remains of a Roman soldier and his wife are buried there. There is history everywhere around here!

King Charles slept here.