Coordinates: 45°46′N 4°50′E
Country France
Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Metropolis Lyon Metropolis
Arrondissement Lyon
Subdivisions 9 arrondissements
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Grégory Doucet[2]
(EELV)
Area1 47.87 km2 (18.48 sq mi)
 • Urban (2020[3]) 1,141.4 km2
(440.7 sq mi)
 • Metro (2020[4]) 4,605.8 km2
(1,778.3 sq mi)
Population (2022)[5] 520,774
 • Rank 3rd in France
 • Density 11,000/km2
(28,000/sq mi)
 • Urban (Jan.
2021[6])
1,702,921
 • Urban density 1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
 • Metro (Jan.
2021[7])
2,308,818
The name of the city has taken the forms Lugdon, Luon, and since the
13th century, Lyon. The Gallic Lugdun or Lugdunon that was Latinized
in Roman as Lugdunum is composed of two words. The first may be the
name of the Celtic god Lug (in charge of order and law), or the derived
word lugon, meaning "crow" (the crow being the messenger of Lug), but
might also be another word lug, meaning "light". The second is dunos
('fortress', 'hill'). The name thus may designate the hill of Fourvière, on
which the ancient city of Lyon is founded, but could mean "hill of the
god Lug", "hill of the crows" or "shining hill".[21] [22]
Alternatively Julius Pokorny associates the first part of the word with
the Indo-European radical *lūg ('dark, black, swamp'), the basis of the
toponyms Ludza in Latvia, Lusatia in Germany (from Sorbian Łužica),
and several places in the Czech Republic named Lužice;[23] it could then
also be compared to Luze in Franche-Comté and various hydronyms
such as Louge.
Further down, in the current Saint-Vincent district, was the Gallic
village of Condate, probably a simple hamlet of sailors or fishermen
living on the banks of the Saône. Condate is a Gallic word meaning
"confluence", from which the Confluence district gets its name.
In Roman times the city was called Caput Galliæ, meaning "capital of
the Gauls". As an homage to this title, the Archbishop of Lyon is still
called the Primate of Gaul.
During the revolutionary period, Lyon was renamed Commune-
Affranchie ("Emancipated Commune") on 12 October 1793 by a decree
of the Convention Nationale. It resumed its name in 1794, after the end
of the Terror.
Lyon is called Liyon in Franco-Provençal.[24]
According to the historian Dio Cassius, in 43 BC, the Roman Senate
ordered the creation of a settlement for Roman refugees of war with the
Allobroges. These refugees had been expelled from Vienne and were
now encamped at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers. The
foundation was built on Fourvière hill and officially called Colonia
Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity and the blessing of the
gods. The city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum (and
occasionally Lugudunum[25]).[26] The earliest translation of this Gaulish
place-name as "Desired Mountain" is offered by the 9th-century
Endlicher Glossary.[27] In contrast, some modern scholars have
proposed a Gaulish hill-fort named Lug[o]dunon, after the Celtic god
Lugus (cognate with Old Irish Lugh, Modern Irish Lú), and dúnon (hill-
fort).
The Romans recognised that Lugdunum's strategic location at the
convergence of two navigable rivers made it a natural communications
hub. The city became the starting point of main Roman roads in the
area, and it quickly became the capital of the province, Gallia
Lugdunensis. Two Emperors were born in this city: Claudius, whose
speech is preserved in the Lyon Tablet in which he justifies the
nomination of Gallic Senators, and Caracalla.
Lyon
Lyon
Ancient Lyon