(French Lyon, ancient Lugdunum),** the capital of the French department of Rhône, and, till recently, ranking in point of population and commercial importance as the second city of the empire; but the last census returns show that in the former of these respects it has been exceeded by Marseilles. It is situated at the junction of the Saône with the Rhône, and on the Paris and Marseilles Railway, 316 miles from the former, and 218 from the latter city; N. Lat. 45° 45'. E. Long. 4° 49'. 38"; elevation above the level of the sea, 963 feet. The rivers Rhône and Saône being both navigable, it enjoys great facilities for trade; but it is as a manufacturing city that it is chiefly celebrated, and in this respect it is justly entitled to the name of the French Manchester. The staple articles of manufacture are silk stuffs of all descriptions, and which for richness and beauty are unequalled. In this manufacture about 100,000 of the population are either actively or indirectly concerned. There are no exact statistics of the silk manufacture at Lyons; but the following extract from a letter by the president of the chamber of commerce at Lyons, dated December 19, 1853, is said to give very nearly the exact results:—“During the present year and the two preceding, the manufacturers of silk at Lyons have employed about 60,000 machines (*métiers*), scattered over a district of about 40 miles. These machines have consumed about 2,500,000 kilogrammes of silk (5,500,000 lbs.), valued at 160,000,000 francs (£6,400,000); and the manufactured stuffs at 250,000,000 francs (£10,000,000). It is estimated that the home consumption amounts to one-fourth or one-third of that quantity. The balance is exported to all parts of the civilized world; but by far the largest foreign market is found in the United States.” The silk manufacture in Lyons is not carried on in large factories, but on the domestic system, in the dwellings of the master-weavers, each of which has usually from two to six or eight looms, which, with their fittings, are generally his own property. Himself and as many of his family as can work are employed on these looms, and frequently also one or more compagnons, or journeymen. The number of master-weavers in the city and suburbs is estimated to be about 9000. The silk merchants, of whom there are about 600 in Lyons, supply the silk and patterns to the owners of looms, who are entrusted with the task of producing the web in a finished state. The weaving population, though earning comparatively good wages, are an ignorant and degraded race, living in a disgracefully filthy state, and showing little desire to improve their condition. Few of the journeymen ever raise themselves to be master-weavers. The silk manufacture was established here by Italian refugees in the middle of the fifteenth century. It was nearly ruined by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, which dispersed most of its best workmen to Spitalfields, Amsterdam, Crefeld, and other places. Lyons has numerous dye-works, printing establishments, foundries, glass-works, potteries, tanyards, breweries, chemical works, boat-building yards, &c., but these are all insignificant compared with its chief branch of industry. The commerce carried on by means of the rivers is very considerable. The town is built principally on the tongue of land, or peninsula, between the Rhône and Saône, each of which is crossed by eight or nine bridges communicating with extensive suburbs lying to the E. and W. The old portion of Lyons consists chiefly of narrow, crooked, and dirty streets, rendered dark and gloomy by the great height of the houses on each side, which are generally seven or eight storeys high. About three-fourths of a century ago, the point of confluence of the two rivers was removed about a mile farther S., and on the additional territory thus acquired the suburb of Perrache was formed. This has been laid out on a regular plan, and now contains many elegant streets and some very agreeable promenades. The suburb of La Croix Rousse, to the N. of the town, and that of Fourvières, on the right bank of the Saône, are chiefly inhabited by silk weavers. Those of Brotteaux and Guillotière are on the left bank of the Rhône. The best view of the town and neighbourhood is obtained from the summit of the steep hill of Fourvières, on the right bank of the Saône. The fortifications of Lyons consist of eighteen detached forts, arranged in a circle of 12½ miles round the town, crowning the heights of St. Croix and Fourvières, and of Croix Rousse, above the suburb of that name, and including in its circuit the suburbs of Brotteaux and Guillotière. These fortifications are required more to quell insurrections among the inhabitants than to withstand attacks from without. In 1831, 1834, and 1837, formidable riots took place, in which many lives were lost. Both banks of the Saône and the left bank of the Rhône are lined with quays, some of which are planted with trees, and afford very agreeable promenades.

Of its numerous squares, the finest is the Place Bellecour, one of the largest in Europe, covering 15 acres, and planted with lime trees. In the centre is a bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV. The Hôtel de Ville and the Museum, or Palais des Beaux Arts, form two sides of the square called Place des Terreaux. The former building, said to be the finest of its kind in France, was erected between 1646 and 1655. Its front is nearly 160 feet in width, flanked with a square tower and dome at either end, and in the centre is a clock tower, surmounted by a cupola, which rises to the height of 157 feet. The depth of the building is 383 yards. The Palais des Beaux Arts, formerly the Benedictine convent of St Pierre, consists of four large piles of building, including a square court, and containing museums of antiquities and natural history, a picture gallery, schools of drawing and natural history, &c. The public library is the best provincial collection in France, containing about 80,000 printed volumes and a large collection of MSS. The cathedral of St Jean, on the right bank of the Saône, was begun in the seventh century, but not completed till the reign of Louis XI. It is a Gothic edifice, and has four towers, two of which flank the west front, while the other two, shorter but more massive, form the transepts. The church of Notre Dame stands on the summit of the hill of Fourvières, and is said to occupy the site of Lyons, the Forum Vetus, built by Trajan. Numerous Roman remains have been discovered on the hill, the principal being an amphitheatre and some fine arches of an aqueduct. The Hôtel Dieu, on the quay, facing the Rhône, is one of the most ancient establishments of the kind in France, having been founded by Childebert and his queen in the beginning of the sixth century. The present building was erected by Soufflot, and receives annually about 12,000 patients.

Lyons is the seat of an archbishop; and has a court of appeal, tribunals of primary insrance and commerce, a council of prud'hommes, a mint, a university college, having faculties of theology, science, and literature, a school of medicine and pharmacy, a lycéeum, a school of arts (Institution de la Martinière) for the gratuitous instruction of sons of artizans, a veterinary school, school of artillery, military gymnassium, deaf-and-dumb institution, and a botanic garden.

In the revolution of 1793, the people of Lyons having declared against the revolutionary party, the city was taken by the conventional army after a siege of upwards of two months, and almost reduced to ruins. It suffered severely from the inundations of its two rivers in June 1856. Pop. (1851) 156,169.

Lyons, Gulf of (the ancient Gallicus Sinus), an extensive bay of the Mediterranean Sea, formed by the southern coast of France, between the Pyrenean range on the W., and a headland near Toulon on the E. It extends 145 miles from one extremity to the other, and washes the shores of the six departments of Pyrenees-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône, and part of Var. The principal rivers that enter it are,—the Rhône, the Aude, and Têt; and the chief towns on its coast-line are,—Marseilles, Clette, and Port Vendres. Its shores in many parts are broken by long lagoons and low islands.