Über diesen Ort
Dug into the slope of the Fourvière hill lie the Roman theatres of Lyon, the birthplace of the city the Romans called Lugdunum. The larger Grand Theatre was begun under the Emperor Augustus around fifteen years before the common era, making it the oldest Roman theatre in Gaul, and it was later enlarged under Hadrian to hold roughly ten thousand spectators across a bowl some one hundred and eight metres wide. Beside it stands the smaller Odeon, a rarer building reserved for music and poetry, with room for around three thousand guests and a floor once paved in coloured marble imported from across the empire. Buried and forgotten for centuries, the theatres were uncovered by excavations beginning in 1933, and since 1946 they have come alive each summer for the Nuits de Fourvière festival, with the Lugdunum museum set into the hillside alongside them.
Wissenswertes
- 15 BC — The Grand Theatre was begun under Emperor Augustus, the oldest in Roman Gaul
- 1933 year — Systematic excavations finally uncovered the long-buried theatres
- 10000 spectators — The theatre's capacity after it was enlarged under Emperor Hadrian
📍 Esplanade, 69005, Lyon