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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Collège Saint-Martin de Bollène, built in the 12th century, finds its origins in a priory founded on Puy Hill, dependent on the Abbey of Ile-Barbe. Consecrated between 1112 and 1119 under the names of the Saint-Sauveur, the Virgin Mary and Saint-Martin, only this last name subsista. The priory, attested from the tenth century through a diploma from Conrad the Pacific (971), was annexed in 1427 by the Collège Saint-Nicolas d'Annecy, marking its gradual integration into regional ecclesiastical structures.

In the 16th century, the building suffered major destruction during the Wars of Religion: in 1562, the Protestants of Baron des Adrets burned down the church after precipitating the canons from the Saint-Antoine tower. The reconstruction, ordered by a brief papal in 1579, was carried out sparingly (voûts abandoned for economic reasons). Chapels were added between 1505 and 1602, including that of Jean de l'Hôtel (demolia in 1948), while the bell tower was remodeled in 1618. A fire in 1654 destroyed the tabernacle carved by Philippe Mézangeau, replaced the following year.

Secularized in 1727, the priory became a collegiate church led by a chapter of canons until the Revolution. Ranked a historic monument in 1909, the church underwent major restorations in the 20th century: choir absidioles (1948-1950), sacristy (2009), and interior/external (2010-2014). This work highlights its heritage importance, between medieval heritage and modern adaptations.

The building preserves remarkable elements such as the bells of 1584 and 1691, the portal of Nicolas de Ventuéjous (1505), and classified stained glass windows. Its history reflects religious tensions (Catholicism vs Protestantism), local dynamics (the role of the brotherhoods, like that of Saint-Crépin in 1526), and architectural evolution, from its Benedictine foundation to its present status as a restored municipal monument.

To be distinguished from the Church of Saint Martin of Bollène, the collegiate church embodies a religious, artistic heritage (sculptures of Mézangeau, gilding of Carraffa in 1668) and memorial, linked to the conflicts and reconstructions that marked Provence and the Dauphiné in the 16th-17th centuries.

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