The red sandstone facade of St. Ignatius’s rises up in the midst of the low houses of the old city in Kapuzinerstrasse. The church was constructed between 1763 and 1774 to the plans of Johann Peter Jäger, namely in place of the old church of a suburb enclosed within the city wall after 1200.
The church shows an impressive interplay of baroque, as the expression of joy in faith, and classicism, as the expression of reason. Luxuriant stucco works and puttos appear between the strict lines of classicism. Ceiling frescos relate the life and death of St. Ignatius. They were originally by the baroque painter Johann Baptist Enderle, but were later touched up several times. The classicist organ casing (1774-81) above the main entrance is worth of seeing, the organ itself dates from 1837.
Under the church is a crypt in which, apart from clergymen and members of the parish, the church’s architect, stucco worker and carpenter have also been laid to rest. The towerless church is surrounded by a parish garden in which the large crucifixion group, the tomb of the sculptor Hans Backoffen (died 1519) and a Gothic wooden crucifix are to be seen.
References:The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls was part of the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum (Lyon). The amphitheatre was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône and Saône.
Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building"s south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena"s dimensions are 67,6m by 42m. This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied the imperial cult, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.
The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats. In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs.