La Croix-Rousse is a hill in the town of Lyon, France, as well as the name of a quarter located on this hill (divided into two halves - the pentes, a part of the town's 1st arrondissement, and the plateau, in its 4th arrondissement). It is 254m at its peak. It is near the Place des Terreaux.
The quarter is heavily marked by silk industry (Lyons was the centre of silk manufacture in Europe).
The quarter is called La Croix-Rousse (The russet cross) because of the cross the Christians put there in the 16th century: made in stone from Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or, it was reddish-brown.
In Lyon, La Croix-Rousse is nicknamed la colline qui travaille (the hill that works) in contrast to the better-known hill to the southwest, Fourvière, which is known as la colline qui prie (the hill that prays).
The district started developing in the 18th century when the silk workshops moved here from the Vieux Lyons area. The canuts (silk workers) were subject to extremely poor working conditions. On account of these conditions, they staged many worker uprisings, known as the Canut revolts. The first revolt, in October 1831 is considered to be one of the very first worker uprisings.
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