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Origin and history

The Collège Notre-Dame-d'Espérance de Montbrison, located on the right bank of Vizézy, was founded in 1223 by Count Guigues IV de Forez as a political symbol and burial place for his dynasty. Built over 240 years (1223–166), its sober Gothic architecture reflects a stylistic unity despite the changes of dynasties (counts of Forez, then Dukes of Bourbon). The work began with the choir, followed by the nave and side chapels added between 1480 and 1516.

Count Guigues IV laid the first stone in 1226, giving the church of the Moingt seigneury and income to ensure its construction. His son, Guy V, still a child, symbolically sealed the stone of honor in the abside. The works, interrupted by conflicts such as the Hundred Years' War, resumed thanks to Louis II of Bourbon and Anne Dauphine in the 14th century. The western gate, financed by Charles I of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy, was completed in 1459, and the facade in 1466.

Saccaged during the Revolution (1793) and transformed into a temple of Reason, the college was restored in the 19th century under the direction of Pierre Bossan. His stained glass windows, including those of Charles-Laurent Maréchal (1846) and Lucien Bégule (1904), as well as his ivy vaults, bear witness to his rich heritage. Ranked a Historical Monument in 1840, it remains an emblem of the Forez, combining Comtal history, Gothic architecture and Marian devotion.

The building, built in limestone and granite, combines a five-span nave, a polygonal choir and side chapels. Its two-level elevation, inspired by the cathedral of Lyon, includes foothills connected by arcs and bows added in the 15th century. The south gate, pierced in 1844, and the north porch (14th century) complete its elongated plan without transept. The college also houses murals, such as that of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the chapel Saint Andrew.

The term Notre-Dame-d'Espérance appeared in the 14th century, linked to a statue of the Virgin bearing this motto, symbol of the alliance between the Bourbons and the Dauphins. Florimond Robertet, Minister of Kings Charles VIII to Francis I, financed two northern chapels. During the Wars of Religion (1562), the furniture was looted by the Protestants and then renewed by the Canons. After the Revolution, the church became parish again in 1803 and benefited from major restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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