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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Bon, mentioned since 1299, is located in the eponymous district of Thonon-les-Bains, in Haute-Savoie. It is surrounded by a tower of the old fortified city enclosure, of which it is one of the last remains. Originally dedicated to Saint Bon, martyr of the third century, in the 14th century it became a castral chapel under the name of Sainte-Marie, served by dom Jean Douliaux, pensioned by the seigneury.

During the French Revolution, his bell tower was destroyed by order of Antoine Louis Albitte, commissioner sent to implement the revolutionary decrees in the region. The chapel had already suffered damage in 1589, during the conflicts between the Bernese (allied with the king of France Henry III) and the Duke of Savoie Charles-Emmanuel I, leaving the building to be abandoned until 1615.

Restored by the Reverend Pierre Bouverat, it was consecrated in 1617 by François de Sales, bishop of Geneva, under the name of the Assumption of Mary. According to tradition, he would have performed his first miracle there by raising a dead child without baptism. The chapel, combined with its adjacent tower, was listed as historical monuments in 1936, demonstrating its heritage importance.

Architecturally, the chapel illustrates the religious and political transformations of Savoy, moving from a castral use to a Marian place of worship. Its history also reflects tensions between local authorities (ducs of Savoy, Bernois) and religious authorities, especially during the Catholic Counter-Reform.

Today, the Chapel Saint-Bon remains a symbol of the medieval and post-medieval heritage of Thonon-les-Bains. Its location, near the old street Saint-Bon (disappeared) and the fortress, recalls the defensive town planning of the city before the seventeenth century. The current management of the site is the responsibility of the municipality, although its access and contemporary uses are not specified in the sources.

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