Church of the Assumption à Montcenis en Saône-et-Loire

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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Assumption of Montcenis, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, was rebuilt between 1680 and 1709 on the site of an earlier building of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Its classical architecture, marked by the use of local brown and red sandstone, is organized in Latin cross, with a nave of three spans, a transept and a choir closed by a polygonal apse. The bell tower, rebuilt after its collapse in 1699, has a sharp pyramid and clock dials. The Cochet chapel, founded in 1513 by Jehan Maret, the chestnut of Montcenis, houses black marble baptismal fonts and polychrome statues from the 14th to the 18th century.

The church preserves remarkable furniture and works of art, including polychrome wooden statues (saint Sébastien, Virgin with the Child, Virgin of Mercy, etc.) and a modern painting, The Pilgrims of Emmaus (1968) by Michel Bouillot. Classified as a historic monument since 12 March 2003, it includes in its protection the choir woodwork, the high altar and its altarpiece. In November 2025, two statues (Saint Teresa of Lisieux and the Sacred Heart) were vandalized, triggering a judicial investigation.

The Gothic style dominates in the interior structure, with ivy vaults and thirdons falling on ground caps. The nave, preceded by a span supporting the bell tower, illustrates the transition between medieval and classical periods. The furniture, mostly from the eighteenth century, completes this heritage complex, reflecting the artistic and religious evolution of the region. The chapel of the Baptist fonts, dating from the 16th century, bears witness to the pious foundations of the local lords, such as the Cochet family.

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