About us

The Archives Departement of the city of Lyon holds original and printed records of historical significance, mainly produced by the local public offices and relating to the city of Lyon.

The two missions of a record office are to produce proof and to keep trace.

Thus, we aim to take part in the building up and in the diffusion of the archival collections, in order to answer the administrative requirements of the local authorities and contribute to guarantee citizen rights. It means collect and preserve the documents, facilitate their use by creating search tools, distribute them and eventually make them accessible by means of exhibitions, school visits and activities, and publishings.

We care for over 16 km dated from the end of 13th century. These records mainly deal with the Lyon area and take account of the activities accomplished by the local governement of the city, from 1294 to nowadays. In addition we hold valuable private records deposited by families, institutions, societies, architects, photographers..., which enrich the historical Lyon's heritage. The photographic records are particularly numerous and valuable : over 100,000 photographs among which 10,000 postcards, 30,000 posters, over 100,000 maps and drawings and some miniature works.

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 Lyon, 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's Chapel (near Saint-Nizier's 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 (1789) 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.