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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The building located on Rue de la Fontaine in Ougney-Douvot, Doubs, is an old tithe barn dating from the 16th century. Often mistakenly confused with a priory, this construction actually belonged to the Abbey of Grace-God. It successively served as a dwelling, cellar and agricultural building, illustrating the evolution of rural uses throughout the centuries. Its architecture, marked by a rectangular plan and a stone façade, reflects the constructive techniques of the era.

Ranked as a historic monument entirely by order of 4 August 2011, the building retains remarkable elements such as a vaulted crib pantry, a room on the first floor with the remains of a molded fireplace, and a stairwell superimposing two straight climbs. Subsequent changes, such as the addition of a second access to the pantry and the reshaping of the frame, demonstrate its adaptation to agricultural needs. The precise location, at the place known as Ougney-le-Bas, and its registration in the Merimée inventory make it a protected local heritage.

The tithe barn is part of the network of outbuildings of the Abbey of Grace God, a major religious institution in Franche-Comté. Its initial role was to collect the tithe, tax in kind levied on the harvests of the peasants of the seigneury. Transformed over time, it today embodies the link between architectural heritage, rural history and collective memory of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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