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Key figures

Origin and history

Saint-Laurent de Champagney Church, located in the Haute-Saône department in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is one of the nine oldest churches in the department. Built between 1785 and 1788 in a baroque comto style, it is characterized by its bell tower with yellow, orange and red motifs, typical of the region, and its facade in pink Vosges sandstone. The building was placed under the patronage of Saint Laurent, martyr, and retained a commemorative plaque recalling the visit of King Louis XIV and the Queen on 21 June 1683. On that occasion, the queen offered 30 pieces of gold for a lamp to burn permanently in the sanctuary.

The church houses a rich classified furniture, including an altar, a pulpit and 18th-century stalls decorated with religious symbols and elements related to the Eucharist (grain ears and grapes). Two 18th-century reliquaries, an altar dedicated to the Virgin, and sculptures in early 19th-century painted wood complete this set. Among the notable elements are a tombstone of Jean-Baptiste Priqueler (1696–1752), father of Jacques-Antoine Priqueler, a figure associated with the Vœu de Champagney of 1789 for the abolition of slavery. A statue of Saint Barbe, patron saint of miners, dated from the 16th century and attributed to the school of Troyes, bears witness to the local mining history.

The bell tower, restored in the 21st century, houses a carillon of 35 bells (31 fixed and 4 flying), a rare and emblematic element. The church, restored in 1977 by the Historic Monuments, remains an active place of worship as the capital of the parish of Champagney, dependent on the archdiocese of Besançon. Its architecture and history make it a major religious and cultural heritage of the Haute-Saône.

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