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Origin and history

The Saint John church of Thiers, also known as the Saint John church of the Passet, is a Catholic building located in the lower part of the downtown rocky spur. Although its exact date of construction remains unknown, its first traces date back to the 11th century. In the 15th century, the church was thoroughly remodeled, in a flamboyant Gothic style, before being integrated into the fortifications of Thiers in the 16th century during the Wars of Religion. It then served as a fortified gate to enter the city through the south, with slots still visible today.

In the 11th century, the church formed the second urban nucleus of Thiers, after that of the castle and the church of Saint-Genès. Romanesque remains, like a vault in the nave, attest to its medieval origin. In the 15th century, it was transformed into a predominantly Gothic building, unique in Thiers, with a central nave and irregular collaterals. Its steeple, massive and with foothills, is integrated into the defensive system of the city, while its undergrounds become an ossuary in the 18th century after the transfer of the bones of the cemetery Saint-Genès.

The church underwent major changes in the 17th and 19th centuries: the western part was designed for a brotherhood of white penitents in 1622, then the sacristy, the rostrum and the bell tower were renovated in the 19th. Joined historic monuments in 1986 after its closure for security reasons, it partially reopens in 2020 for guided tours and exhibitions. Its dedicated cemetery, in terraces overlooking the Durolle, reflects the social organization of the city, with modest tombs down and imposing monuments at the top.

Architecturally, the church mixes granite, arkose and lava, with hollow tile roofs. Its stained-glass windows date back to the 1890s, and its interior preserves dogive vaults, except in the first northern span where a Romanesque vault remains. The crypt, filled with the lands of the ancient cemetery of the Moutier, and the undergrounds of the bell tower, transformed into ossuary, testify to its functional evolution. Today, it embodies both Thiers' religious, military and industrial heritage, a city marked by cutlery.

The Saint John Cemetery, adjacent to the church, is a picturesque place built on a promontory. Created before the 11th century, it was enlarged in the 19th and 20th centuries to accommodate the burials of parishioners. Its staircase terraces, adapted to the slope, house more than 700 tombs, some of them in Andesite for the wealthy families. The site, with its central driveway and views of the Durolle gorges, completes the historical attraction of the ensemble.

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