The Manécanterie (English: Parish choir school) is an ancient monument situated in Lyon in Saint Jean district, in the

5th arrondissement of Lyon The 5th arrondissement of Lyon is one of the nine arrondissements of the City of Lyon. History The 5th arrondissement was created on 24 March 1852 (date of creation of the first five arrondissements). It is the historic center of Lyon. It is at ...

. It is placed side by side to the south southwest of the cathedral Saint Jean and is a part of the former convent of the cathedral. This small Romanesque building served first as

dining hall A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or schoo ...

to the canons of Saint Jean, before becoming a parish choir school, namely a school for the singing of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. In 1998, it was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

along with other notable buildings in historic Lyon as a testimony to Lyon's long history and unique architecture. The Parish choir school is probably the oldest building of Lyon, with the exception of the Roman buildings. It was built in the 11th century, in a style mixing the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and Romanesque influences, but it is based on constructions of the 2nd, and 8th centuries. It was successively transformed throughout the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and the modern time, particularly because the roadway of the Place Saint Jean was raised twice. The Parish choir school, and particularly the

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the saints, underwent damages by the troops of

François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, during the siege of Lyon in 1562 by the Protestants. From the 16th to the 18th century, the building had many architectural modifications, including the drilling of Gothic windows, the addition of a floor above the

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, the transformation of the ground floor into shops, and the filling of certain arches. In the 18th century, the building became a parish choir school, and during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, it became the national property. In 1806, the parish bought the building to house the altar boys. The building that was to the south was destroyed in 1809 to build in its place an apartment building which was destroyed in 1866. In 1862, it was classified as monument historique. The current facade has a

blind arcade A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is ...

overlaid with foliage, carried by small columns on pilasters. There are red bricks arranged in a geometrical way between the arcs and above. From 1930, the building became the place of deposit, then a place of exhibition as

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, the Trésor de la Cathédrale de Saint-Jean, established during the 19th century by the cardinals

Joseph Fesch Joseph Fesch, Prince of France (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of his nephew, he became Archbishop ...

and

Louis Jacques Maurice de Bonald Louis Jacques Maurice de Bonald (30 October 1787 – 23 February 1870) was a French cardinal and Archbishop of Lyon.jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

, clothing and tapestry.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manecanterie, Lyon 5th arrondissement of Lyon Museums in Lyon Romanesque architecture in France History museums in France Religious museums in France Monuments historiques of Lyon