Cemetery of Loyasse

The “old” cemetery of Loyasse, created in 1807, is the oldest active cemetery in Lyon. It is located in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon, 43 rue du Cardinal-Gerlier. It was enlarged in September 1853 to form the “new cemetery”, located at 40 on the other side of the same street. It has a part reserved for the burial of the dead of the Muslim religion ("Muslim square" located in the western part of the old cemetery). From 1775, the problem of burial arose in Lyon: an ecclesiastical assembly complained to the king that the cemeteries adjoining the churches of the city "overflowed". At the time when the people of Lyon were considering creating a municipal cemetery, the surgeon and future mayor of Lyon Jean-Jacques Coindre proposed in March 1791 a project designed by the architect Jacques Marcoux which included sixty mass graves that could accommodate 4,000 dead. It was approved by the City Council on December 15, 1800. It is Joseph Jean Pascal Gay, architect of the city, who draws the final plan of the cemetery. The first graves were installed in September 1808, after a simple fence of the recently acquired land. 269 ​​people were buried this year, then 1094 in 1809. The oldest tombs still present date from 1809, such as those of the Jambon family, including Philibert Jambon, inventor of the mechanical external prosthesis, and that of Jacques Barraband6. On July 17, 1830, Canon Joseph Caille made a donation of 32 ares assigned to the burial of ecclesiastics, called the “priests' cemetery”. At the same time, he sells 84 ares to enlarge the general cemetery. The last extension of the “old cemetery” took place on February 4, 1840, with the purchase of the Clos Lièvre. Two properties were acquired in September 1853 to form the "new cemetery"