Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sainte-Madeleine chapel of Châteauneuf-Val-Saint-Donat is a religious building built mainly of white-cut stones, dating from the 4th quarter of the 12th century with major alterations to the 17th century. Its thick (1,1 m) walls, assembled in regular apparatus, delimit a rectangular nave with three arched spans in cradle. This monument, typical of Provencal Romanesque architecture, is distinguished by its geographical isolation, located 3 km from the hamlet of Chabannes, in the heart of a forest of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

The chapel underwent a first repair in 1675, and then housed a hermit community from 1686 to 1792, during which time it played a local spiritual and social role. After the Revolution, it was sold as a national property in 1793, before being abandoned for nearly two centuries. Restoration campaigns between 1975 and 1979 enabled it to be safeguarded, leading to its registration in the Historical Monuments in 1997.

Its history reflects the religious and political upheavals of Provence, from its medieval origin to its contemporary heritage recognition. The sources also mention its protected soil (Cadastral Park C 167), highlighting its archaeological importance. Today, the chapel remains a rare testimony of Provencal hermitage and Romanesque architecture adapted to mountain constraints.

The exact location, although documented (GPS coordinates and Mérimée address), is judged by heritage bases to be "a priori satisfactory" (level 6/10). Its access, in the middle of the forest, makes it a mysterious and preserved site, away from the classic tourist routes of the region.

External links