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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Jean d'Ambert church, located in Puy-de-Dôme, replaces a Romanesque building itself, replacing a Carolingian church in the 8th or 9th century. Built from 1471 on in local granite, it embodies the flamboyant Gothic style, with a Renaissance bell tower completed in 1550. Its financing was carried by the local bourgeoisie enriched by the paper industry, but economic difficulties delayed its completion.

The first stone was laid in 1471 under the direction of Augustus I Du Winch, an architect known for the belfry of Arras. The church, opened to worship in 1506, was consecrated in 1551 by Bishop Guillaume Duprat. Initially planned with two bell towers, only a southwest tower was realized. The building suffered from the Wars of Religion in 1574, when Matthieu Merle caused degradation.

Ranked a historic monument in 1909, the church underwent several restoration campaigns (1867-1868, 1900, 1957-1960, 2002-2003). In 2013 and 2015, structural disorders required urgent work, supported by the Heritage Foundation. Its bell tower, 50 meters high, combines Gothic and Renaissance elements, with gargoyles and a watchtower added for its defense.

Inside, the church hall features a nave without transept, arches with warheads and a walk around the choir. The arch keys have plant motifs and coats of arms, including those of Ambert. The southern façade, adorned with a flamboyant Gothic portal, was initially the main façade, while the sober western façade opened on the old cemetery.

The church was the spiritual center of Livradois since the Middle Ages, dedicated to John the Baptist, and then integrated into a wider parish under the name of Jean-François Régis. In the 18th century, its community of "godly" priests (31 members in 1729) played a key role in local religious life, although their demands sometimes created tensions with the ecclesiastical authorities.

In culture, the church inspired chapter VI of the Copains (1913) by Julius Romans, then a scene of his film adaptation (1965). Today, it remains a symbol of the architectural and historical heritage of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, despite the challenges of its conservation.

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