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Origin and history

The Saint-Laurent church of Ugine, located in Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, is a Catholic monument founded at the end of the 11th century by Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse. Its 12th century Romanesque choir, classified as a historical monument, is the only vestige of the primitive building. This choir, composed of two barlong spans and a vaulted straight bedside, illustrates the beginnings of the Savoyard Gothic introduced by the Clunisians and Benedictines around 1160.

The nave, rebuilt between 1681 and 1685, has a baroque style marked by massive pillars, vaults and rounded windows. The church was consecrated in 1685, then enlarged at the end of the 19th century with an additional span, a elaborate neoclassical facade, and an arrow added to the Romanesque bell tower. These transformations reflect the architectural evolution, from novel to neo-classical, while integrating baroque elements such as retables, now disassembled.

Dedicated to Saint Laurent, martyr of the third century burned alive on a grill, the church celebrates its patronal feast on August 10, a symbol still present on the coat of arms of Ugine. The rural priory, founded around 1091, bears witness to Benedictine influence in the region. In the 20th century, municipal works erased some of the baroque decorations, leaving only a collection of 18th and 19th century statues and a classified pulpit from Notre-Dame Abbey in Tamié.

Ranked among the protected objects of Ugine, the church embodies a complex religious and architectural heritage, mixing medieval, Baroque and neo-classical heritage. His Romanesque choir, the oldest element, remains a remarkable example of the transition to Gothic in Savoy, while his façade and nave illustrate the subsequent stylistic transformations, linked to the liturgical and aesthetic needs of successive epochs.

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