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Origin and history

The Church of Saint John Baptist of Charvonnex found its origins in the 11th century, mentioned in the Charter of Queen Ermengarde as a primitive church. In the 15th century, it depended on the priory of Talloires and was acquired in 1526 by the Collège Notre-Dame de Liesse. These early traces reveal its ancient anchoring in the Savoyard religious landscape, although few architectural details of this time remain.

In 1646, a new church was built, but with a rare peculiarity: its choir was "disoriented", facing west instead of east, a liturgical anomaly. This building, considered to be old, was destroyed in 1816, when the parish gained independence. The reconstruction took place in 1854 in a neo-Gothic style, with a Latin cross, an arrow bell tower, and a polygonal bedside supported by foothills.

The church is home to remarkable heritage features, such as a bentier of 1646 decorated with an angelic head, and two historic bells (1630 and 1813) decorated with religious reliefs (Saint John the Baptist, Calvary). Two restoration campaigns, in 1978 and 2010, preserved this heritage, mixing medieval traces and modern transformations.

The site illustrates the architectural and spiritual evolution of Haute-Savoie, from the first Romanesque churches to the 19th century reconstructions. Its history also reflects local dynamics, such as the influence of priories or the progressive autonomy of parishes after 1816.

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