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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Étienne de Boussières, mentioned in 1092, preserves its bell tower, rare example of Romanesque art in Franche-Comté. This bell tower, thirty-two metres high, is marked with Lombard bands and houses two historic bells: George Claudine (940 kg) and George Marie-Berthe (800 kg), the latter engraved with a poetic inscription on life and death.

In the 16th century, the parish priest Jean d'Orchamps had the foreground erected between 1562 and 1584, as evidenced by the date engraved above the vault key. This porch, vaulted in a cross-dogives, bore the arms of the Orchamps family and served as a place for parish reconciliation ceremonies, essential to allow the faithful in conflict to "do their Easter". The nave, collapsed and rebuilt in 1787, incorporates an engraved stone of 1737, recalling the restoration initiated by parish priest C. Chauvey.

Ranked a historic monument in 1913 for its bell tower and porch, the church houses remarkable furniture: an 18th century polychrome altar-table (registered in 1992) and carved wooden baptismal fonts of the 13th century. It now depends on the parish of Notre-Dame-du-Mont, in the diocese of Besançon, and remains an architectural testimony of stylistic evolutions between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Its access is facilitated by line 54 of the Ginko network, highlighting its anchoring in contemporary local life. The bells, which are still in operation, are the rhythm of the village life, while the site enjoys a precise location (1 Church Street, Busses) and communal protection.

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