Église Sainte-Madeleine

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

This chapel built during the Middle Ages became a collegiate church in the middle of the 15th century, a period during which it was the object of a campaign of works. From the middle of the 18th century, the new owner of the marquisate of Varambon proceeded with the reconstruction and decoration of a large part of the church. In 1770, the architect Pierre-Antoine Caristia was charged with rebuilding part of the nave and the entrance, the north chapel and the bell tower, the decoration being entirely redone. The façade is executed in a baroque style and the entrance is adorned with a horseshoe staircase allowing access to the parvis. The interior of the church is adorned with fine woodwork and lit by round-arch openings.

Description

The forecourt is provided with a circular staircase with two flights which faces the main entrance to the west; the south part of the church, by the sacristy building, is attached to the houses. The main façade, though modest, is inspired by the façades of Baroque buildings. The contemporary render may have caused certain decorative elements to disappear or be altered. The body of the church with its rectangular plan is inherited from 15th-century construction: on the north wall, the modillions of the former wall can be seen which marked the passage of the wall-walk. Similarly, above the entrance doorway, the opening which surmounts it, and the oculus, a sculpted face appears beneath the render. The monumental porch was presumably arranged from the former façade. The entrance door is inscribed in a bay of classical style above which can be read in the lintel « quis ego sum ut possim aedificare domum », what man am I to build for the Lord his house?. The arms of Balland d'Augustebourg and his wife, defaced at the Revolution surmount the opening. In the interior, the simple nave is composed of three bays covered with rib vaults. In the first entrance bay, are found a stone stoup and a small wooden confessional. The floor slabs come from the former church, two of which are funeral slabs with difficult-to-read inscriptions, one from the tomb of Guigues de La Palud and the other from his wife Aynarde de la Balme. The keystone of the vault of the second bay still bears the arms of La Palud. The rest of the church is essentially paved with red and ochre sandstone, and black marble which recall the décor. On either side of the second bay, an altar dedicated to the Virgin to the south and to Saint Peter to the north, both in the Corinthian style. The third bay is occupied by the seigneurial benches with richly decorated timber work recalling overseas trade and merchant marine. This part of the décor would evoke the marquis's gratitude for having escaped a shipwreck. In the ante-chancel are found on either side plaques recalling the donations of Balland d'Augustebourg and access doors, one leading to the chapel and the other to the exit. The chapel was rebuilt in 1770; it serves for services. The chancel has twelve wooden stalls, with wainscoting decorated with religious attributes and separated by fluted pilasters topped with Corinthian capitals. At the centre of the chancel is the high altar decorated with two statues of white marble, one representing Saint Anne and the Virgin and the other Saint Colombe. The architect also rebuilt the octagonal bell tower in the manner of the one he had built a few years earlier at Pont-de-Veyle with the royal architect Le Jolivet. The south entrance is by an elegant vestibule with bulbous roof covering. The high altar with the two statues, the twelve stalls, the seigneurial benches and the commemorative plaques were classified as objects on 5 October 1920.