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Origin and history

Saint-Étienne de Lacanche Church is a Catholic church built between 1841 and 1843 in the Côte-d'Or department. It was offered to the village by Jeanne Cros-Caumartin, a local benefactor, and consecrated on September 24, 1844 by François Victor Rivet, then bishop of Dijon. This neo-classical monument fills a gap for the community, with Lacanche not having a church before. The construction works are part of a period of local development, marked by the influence of industrial families such as the Caumartin, owners of the village forges.

The interior decorations of the church are remarkable: the murals in trompe l'oeil, made by J.B. Bertoletti, cover the walls and vaults of the nave and the abside. They are inspired in part by the 18th century painting of the Adoration of the Shepherds of François Boucher. The three stained glass windows come from the Champigneulle workshop, a renowned glass workshop. These artistic elements, added to sober architecture, make the church a significant example of the 19th century religious heritage in Burgundy.

The Saint-Étienne church has been the subject of successive protections: it is listed in historical monuments by order of 20 December 1991, and then classified on 30 September 1994 for its interior decorations. An interior renovation was undertaken in July 2017, reflecting the attention paid to the preservation of this heritage. The monument also illustrates the commitment of municipalities and individuals to the preservation of religious buildings, as evidenced by its mention among the sites selected for the Heritage Lotto in 2018.

The church is located at approximately 1 Rue Hubert Coste, 21230 Lacanche, in the Côte-d'Or department. It belongs to the municipality and is listed in the Merimée database under the code Insee 21334. Its history is closely linked to that of the forges of Lacanche, highlighting the links between industrial and religious heritage in this region of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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