Catégorie : Sites

In 2026 > Marina ZINDY

In 2022 > Prune SIMON-VERMOT

The Christian presence in Vaux is very ancient: the « Chronicle of Romainmôtier » mentions a « colony of monks » who arrived as early as the 9th century to found « the priories of Vaux and Saint-Point, and the hermitage known as Mont du Four. » The existence of the village of Vaux is attested by a charter of 1126, but it was only in 1507 that the inhabitants were authorized to build a chapel in the village, the chancel of which, now part of the church, may be a remnant. The church of Vaux is dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady. It is a relatively simple building (a Latin cross plan, a single nave preceded by a bell tower and opening onto a chancel with a flat apse) and a composite in terms of its construction periods: the bell tower (covered by an imperial roof) was built in the 19th century, the nave in the first quarter of the 16th century, and the 18th-century chancel was modified in the 19th century. Stained-glass windows illuminate the chancel, the axial chapels of the transept, and the nave.

The altarpiece, created by Augustin Fauconnet, is in keeping with the tradition of Baroque altarpieces in the Haut-Doubs region: Baroque in its movement, its three-tiered rhythm with a canopy, columns, capitals, volutes, and niches, its colors (a gray background enhanced with gold and red), and its almost theatrical aspect; but it also remains very typical of the Haut-Doubs in its restraint, poised between wisdom and austerity. The central panel of this altarpiece is particularly interesting, as it depicts the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, painted by the Swiss artist Jean Wyrsch in 1771.
The church also houses a large wooden sculpture of Christ in Chains. This sculpture is generally dated to the second half of the 16th century and is associated with Flemish and Burgundian models, although its exact provenance has not been definitively established. It is said to have once been housed in an oratory located between Vaux and Chantegrue. However, its quality and size suggest a different origin, perhaps the Abbey of Mont-Sainte-Marie.
A polychrome and gilded wooden statuette of the Virgin and Child, uncertainly dated to between the 13th and 16th centuries, is also on display.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2022 > Olivier Toulemonde, le FRAC with Matthew McCaslin, Sébastien Thiéry

Pontarlier, a stopover between the abbeys of Saint-Bénigne de Dijon and Saint-Maurice d’Agaune (in Valais Switzerland) was provided quite early with a hospital (it is mentioned as early as 1189) – and a chapel or a church – located in Faubourg Saint-Pierre. Partially destroyed in 1639 during the capture of the city by the Saxe-Weimar Swedes, it was transferred to the Faubourg Saint-Étienne in 1700 according to the plans of the architect Richard. Once again destroyed by the great fire of 1736, it was rebuilt in 1740 according to the plans of the engineer Querret, then enlarged several times.
The chapel is a curious 19th century construction carried out in 1897 to the plans of the architect E. Bérard: a sort of narthex opens onto a single nave extended by an apse choir; the columns of the narthex support a gallery which allowed the sick on the first floor to follow the services; stained glass windows in the choir and the nave illuminate the whole. But it is less the plan of this building which is curious than its decor, inherited from a certain orientalist fashion: columns with cylindrical shafts and decorated capitals, stained glass windows decorated with luxuriant foliage, papyrus, sky vault of the nave starry, choir vault with a Byzantine-inspired Christ… The fairly dark paints covering the walls and columns and limited natural lighting give this chapel a rather dark interior appearance.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2022 > Julie Chaffort

The current church was built between 1860 and 1863 to replace the original church (15th century) which had become too small to accommodate all the inhabitants. Located inside the cemetery enclosure, it is an imposing building consisting of a porch bell tower opening onto a central nave with two aisles and a choir. The nave and side aisles are lit by large windows and the choir by a circular window. It is especially remarkable for the entire baroque main altar, its tabernacle in gilded wood, and its altarpiece of brown painted wood enhanced with gilding, foliage, scrolls, garlands, twisted columns which frame niches with statues (the Virgin and an apostle and two sculpted groups, the Baptism of Constantine and the Education of the Virgin) and support a canopy where a statue of God sits in the middle of clouds and cherubs… The whole is very theatrical and reminiscent of other altarpieces such as the one in Sainte Catherine church in les Hôpitaux-Neufs.
Note that the construction of this church benefited from a donation from Emperor Napoleon III and another from Jean Séraphin Lanquetin (1794-1869), a politician from Longevilles-Mont-D’Or, President of the Paris Municipal Council and deputy for the Seine.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2022 > Vidya Gastaldon

The foundation of the Sainte-Catherine church dates back to 1368. The church was rebuilt from 1694 to 1696. It is located inside the enclosure which surrounds the cemetery at the crossroads of the two roads which cross the village. Preceded by a bell tower (surmounted by an octagonal spire), the single blind nave is flanked on each side by three chapels lit by a stained-glass window; the sacristy is attached to the polygonal apse. However, this church is less known for its architecture than for its interior decor, which remains one of the most interesting examples of Baroque art in Haut-Doubs.
Each of the six side chapels has a small altar-altarpiece with a painted canvas or a sculpted bas-relief. But the centerpiece of this decoration remains the main altar: surmounted by a goldenciborium with a canopy supported by twisted columns and surmounted by musical angels, it is flanked by niches with statues and decorated with a sculpted altarpiece dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena.
To see in the Chapel of the Virgin a statue of the seated Virgin (gilded wood from the 17th century, originally polychrome) called The Virgin of Lausanne. The original model (a statue covered in gilded silver) was venerated at Lausanne Cathedral, a place of Marian pilgrimage, until its disappearance during the Bernese conquest in 1536. Also note, in one of the chapels lateral, the tombstone of Jean-Baptiste de Strambino, bishop and count of Lausanne, who died during a pastoral visit on June 29, 1684.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2026 > François GÉNOT

In 2022 > Arnaud Vasseux

Located in the hollow of the valley, this small chapel, placed like the church of Jougne under the name of Saint Maurice, is part of the enclosure of the Ferrière cemetery. It once belonged to a priory built by the Benedictines of Saint-Maurice d’Agaune Abbey (in Switzerland) who could stop there between their convent and Burgundy. The priory has now completely disappeared and only the chapel remains. This chapel was rebuilt in the 12th century on a Carolingian crypt from the 9th century and was transformed twice: at the end of the Middle Ages with the rearrangement of two bays and the strengthening of the buttresses and in the 16th century with the removal of the apse.
Inside, the single nave with 4 bays separated by double arches is covered by a pointed barrel vault and lit by semi-circular bay windows while the west wall is pierced by an oculus. The capitals of the columns separating the third bay from the choir are decorated with heads, figures and interlacing. The three bays of the crypt are covered by a groined vault falling on columns whose capitals are decorated with interlacing. All of the capitals of the nave and the crypt are a truly remarkable and typical testimony to the first unique Romanesque decoration in Haut-Doubs. This chapel is therefore one of the oldest Christian settlements in Haut-Doubs. In 1309, the marriage was celebrated there between Louis of Savoy, lord of Vaud (Switzerland) and Isabelle de Chalon, daughter of Jean de Chalon-Arlay.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2022 > Marion Lemaître

The translation of the relics of Saint Pius from Rome to Besançon and from Besançon to Doubs, in 1781, is at the origin of the construction of the current church in Doubs. The bones of this unknown martyr who lived under the Roman Empire were found in Rome, in the catacombs, accompanied by a vial of blood. Faced with the influx of pilgrims from all over the region, the church was considered too small and it was decided to build a new one according to the drafts of the architect Martin Béliard to replace the primitive medieval building which was too dilapidated. The new church was blessed in 1869 but with an unfinished bell tower which had to wait for its spire until 1931. The spire was restored in 2020.
It is a neo-Gothic style church whose imposing dimensions are surprising for a village which had only 400 inhabitants at the time of its construction. It consists of a bell tower opening onto a single nave preceding the choir to which is attached the chapel housing the shrine of the relics of Saint Pius. A narrow circulation gallery runs on each side of the nave and extends in the form of a triforium. Bays with historic or simply decorated stained glass windows (by Maréchal, decorative artist in Metz) illuminate the nave and the choir at the level of the triforium as well as the chapel of Saint Pius. From the primitive church, there remains a painted wooden panel from the 15th century representing the crucifixion, 3 gilded wooden statues from the 18th century, Saint Martin, Saint Agatha and Saint Barbara, and a statue of the Virgin crushing the serpent, as well as a baptismal tank (1560).

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2024 > Silvana MC NULTY

In 2022 > Laurent Guenat

The first religious building built in Brey village seems to have been a chapel built in 1497 to avoid residents having to go as far as Rochejean to attend services. Another chapel would have been built in the 17th century at Maison-du-Bois. Built in the first half of the 19th century (1837), the current parish church under the name of Saint-Sébastien replaces these successive buildings. It consists of a bell tower opening onto a single nave separated from the choir by a three-step stairs. The barrel vault of the nave rests on columns with cylindrical shafts. A small classically inspired building is attached to the bell tower-porch crowned by an imperial roof.
Apart from a statue of the Virgin and Child dating from the second half of the 17th century, which could come from the original building, all of the furniture dates from the 19th century: the preaching pulpit, of which only the tank remains. The statues of Christ on the cross, of Saint Francis Xavier and the Virgin. The paintings of the Death of Saint Francis Xavier ; of Saint Isidore ; of the Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Agnes ; all donated by the emperor Napoléon Bonaparte the Third in 1860, and that of the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, copy of a 17th century painting.

GPS : 46,739577 / 6,230343

In 2020 > Sarkis

Survival, according to legend, of the hermitage of Saint-Point built in the 6th century on the banks of the lake of the same name, or consequence of the creation of the abbey of Mont-Saint-Marie, in 1199, or again, foundation by the monks of Romainmôtiers (Switzerland) in 1126, the small priory of Saint-Point would have been well established in the 12th century, which also corresponds to the dating of the oldest parts of the church, even if Saint-Point only really appears in the texts in the 13th century. First relay of the monastery of Romainmôtier, it became a vicariate in 1454 and it was established as a parish in 1777.
Placed under the name of Saint Point, it is a small building located inside the cemetery enclosure.
The bell tower-porch, covered by an imperial roof, precedes a single nave with 3 bays and a choir with a flat apse. A gallery opening onto the nave has been built on the first floor of the bell tower.
The nave is the oldest element of the building (late 12th century). The choir was rebuilt from 1504 to 1508 after the fire of the original choir. Two side chapels forming a transept were erected in 1480. The chapel on the right has preserved a washbasin from the 15th century.The nave is covered by a broken barrel vault resting on double arches which rest on thick walls reinforced by buttresses and pierced with bays. The choir and side chapels have ribbed vaults.
A sacristy adjoining the choir was built in the 18th century and the architect Pompée restored the facade in a neo-classical style. Figurative stained glass windows made in 1930 according to designs by glass painter Albert Gerrer in Mulhouse, occupy the two large bays of the choir; they represent The flight into Egypt of he Holy Family on one side, Saint Point in prayer at the feet of the cross on the other.
The tombstones preserved in the church evoke the life of the dead, this path which led, it is said, from the abbey of Mont-Sainte-Marie to the priory of Saint-Point, where those the abbey could not accommodate would take on that path to rest. The Saint-Point church has been included on the list of historic monuments since July 28, 2004.

GPS : 46,813583 / 6,302048

In 2020 > Elisabeth S. Clark

Built in the 16th century, the church stands within the cemetery enclosure. Despite successive restorations, it has been able to retain most of its original structure: a bell tower-porch opening onto a central nave with four bays flanked by two side aisles lit by stained-glass windows; one of these aisles is closed at its apse by a stained glass window depicting the crucifixion, the other by an altar dedicated to Saint-Antoine and topped by the statue of the saint.
The choir with a flat apse and the entire church are ribbed vaulted. The Baroque high altarpiecewhich occupies the apse of the choir is topped by an imposing stepped tabernacle which extends almost to the top of the altarpiece from which it partially conceals the decoration of clouds, clouds and cherubs’ heads. Behind the upper part of the tabernacle itself surmounted by a Resurrection Christ, two angels lift the sides of a heavy theater curtain revealing Heaven symbolized by clouds, cherub heads and the dove of the Holy Spirit in the bright rays of the Eternal Father. Only two colors for this set as well as for the preaching pulpit and the side altar: dark brown for the backgrounds and gold for the statues, sculptures and decorations.

GPS : 46,776783 / 6,338352

In 2020 > the FRAC with Ann Veronica Janssens, Charles Dreyfus and Pierre Tatu

Located on the side of the road, this modest chapel which has been dated back to 1634 is dedicated to Saint Antide, bishop of Besançon martyred during the 4th century. Consisting of a single ribbed-vaulted nave and a choir, it is covered by a two-sided roof topped with a bell tower. Note the presence of a wooden altar in the choir and a reliquary statuette of Saint Antide.

GPS : 46,692803 / 6,164524

In 2020 > Pierre-Yves Freund

Founded in the 13th century, Saint-Jean-Baptiste church was not built until the 14th century and rebuilt in the 15th century. The current building is the result of alterations and restorations carried out over the centuries.
Formerly located in the middle of the two towns (“up” and “down”), it is included in the enclosure of the old cemetery. The bell tower topped with a traditional imperial roof opens onto a single nave covered by a gable roof and a lower choir, highlighting two periods of construction. Wooden paneling covers the walls of the choir and the nave. Note the presence of several interesting elements of old religious furniture in carved and gilded wood: scenes from the Old and New Testaments on certain panels of the paneling; the preaching pulpit, a Christ on the cross, statues of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nicholas.

GPS : 46,746354 / 6,296377