The Hôtel Mercure Lyon Centre Château Perrache, originally Hôtel Terminus, then Pullman Perrache, then Château Perrache, is a hotel of the AccorHotels group built in 1906. It is located on cours de Verdun in the 2nd arrondissement of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. The hotel was the headquarters for the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in Lyon during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Construction

In 1902, the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) decided to build a hotel near the gare de Lyon-Perrache. The hotel was built on the site of the former brasserie Rinck. Architect Georges Chedanne was chosen to oversee the construction. He was assisted by a Lyonnais architect, M. Curieux. Construction completed in 1906. The palace hotel's interior was done in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style, designed by artists including the painters Henri Martin and Ernest Laurent and the sculptor Edgar-Henri Boutry. Cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle designed the canopies at the north and south entrances of the hotel and did the paneling in the lounges. Several sound-proofing techniques were used in the construction, including using cork and double layers of bricks in the rooms and hallways.

Second World War

During the

, in 1942 and 1943, the hotel became the headquarters of the

in Lyon. Notably, it housed department IV led by

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German officer of the ''Schutzstaffel'' and ''Sicherheitsdienst'' who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortu ...

, who was in charge of eliminating the resistance. The film '' Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie'' by Marcel Ophüls details the role of Barbie in Lyon.

Second part of the 20th century

The property was renovated in 1959. Portions of the hotel, including the ceiling of the dining room, were destroyed. In 1982, the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, owner since the incorporation of the PLM, transferred the hotel to the Frantour chain. After the opening of the

gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu The Gare de la Part-Dieu (; "Property of God railway station") or Lyon-Part-Dieu is the primary railway station of Lyon, France, located in its La Part-Dieu business district. It is on the historical Paris–Marseille railway. Train services ...

in 1983, the hotel saw a decrease in clientele. The construction of the in the 1970s resulted in the hotel becoming situated between a highway and the railway line, thus damaging its image. The "groupe Société des Hôtels de Bourgogne" bought the hotel in August 1986 and restored it from 1987 to 1989. In October 1989, the Hôtel Terminus became part of the Pullman chain and was renamed accordingly "Pullman Perrache". It was then renamed "Hôtel Château Perrache" when it was acquired by Mercure.

Historic monument designation

The hotel was classified as a historic monument on 24 November 1997. It was labeled "Patrimoine du XXe siècle" of Lyon in 2003. Ancien hôtel Terminus PA69000004 4.jpg, Canopy at the north side of the hotel (cours de Verdun) Lyon - Château Perrache.JPG, East facade

References

External links

* {{Authority control Monuments historiques of Lyon Vichy France 2nd arrondissement of Lyon Hotels in France Lyon in World War II