A tunnel network with mysterious origins that locals refuse to speak about is nestled in a European city. The Fishbones is an underground tunnel network which runs under the Croix-Rousse hill in Lyon's fourth arrondissement. Discovered by municipal workers in 1959, the set of tunnels is shrouded in mystery after the complex was initially kept a secret from the French public. To date, the tunnels remain closed and only accessible via manhole covers. However, there is thought to be a hidden entrance within Lyon's Saint Bernard church.
The Fishbones network spans the depths of the Croix Rousse hill and connects to the Sarrasinières tunnel network that runs to Miribel in the north. In the tunnels, there are 32 parallel galleries, which stretch 30 metres long and were created without explanation, making them one of Lyon's best-kept secrets.
The name comes from the way the network looks like a fish skeleton. The mystery is thickened by dead ends that bring 32 of the galleries to a sudden stop. Many theories have risen over the years, including that the tunnels may have links to the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, William de Beaujeu, potentially to store his treasures.
“You have these two little [alcoves],” explains Walid Nazim, author of the book L’énigme des Arêtes de Poisson and its English version, Lyon’s Fishbones. “Nobody knows what it is. Nobody’s going to wonder what it is because it’s just two little marks. But beside it there’s the whole mystery," reports This is Lyon.
