Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de La Salle, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, was built in 1820 according to the plans of the departmental architect Vaillant, set up in 1816. It replaces a 12th century medieval chapel, dedicated to the Assumption and located near the castle, some of which remains today in an agricultural building. The current building, made of local pink stones, is distinguished by its unique nave and semicircular apse choir, framed by a sober facade decorated with a triangular pediment and an oculus.

As early as 1861, work was planned to replace the nave frame, considered too massive. In 1900, foothills were added to the bell tower, following the plans of architect A. Pinchard (1896), to strengthen its structure. These changes illustrate the growing concerns for the stability of the building over the 19th century, while the church remained a central place for the local Catholic community.

The interior houses a 15th century polychrome wooden pietà, donated by the Cropet family, classified as a historical monument in 1971 after restoration by the Beaux-Arts de Paris. More recently, in 2013, the church's stained glass windows were restored by the stained glass workshop Saint-Georges in Lyon, as part of a campaign to repair the facades. These furniture and decorative elements testify to the heritage and cultural richness of the site, still active today under the authority of the diocese of Autun.

Integrated into the parish of Notre-Dame-des-Coteaux in Mâconnais (seat in Lugny), the church of La Salle embodies, a century and a half after its construction, an architectural and spiritual heritage anchored in the Upper Mâconnais. Its history reflects both the technical developments of the 19th and 20th centuries and the continuity of Catholic worship in the region, despite social and political transformations, including the 1905 Law on the Separation of Churches and the State.

External links