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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin d'Ambierle church, located in the Loire department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, is originally the chapel of a Benedictine abbey founded in the High Middle Ages. Dedicated to Martin de Tours, it was attached to the order of Cluny in 938, then reduced to priory status in 1101. The present Gothic-style building was rebuilt in the 15th century by Prior Antoine de Balzac of Entragues after a fire in 1441 which destroyed the 11th-century Romanesque chapel, founded by Odilon de Cluny. Since then, it has welcomed the faithful of the parish.

The church suffered a second fire in 1746, requiring repairs until that year. The monastic presence ended in 1788 with the departure of the last monks. The building is distinguished by its roof of glazed polychrome tiles in Burgundy style and a campanile added in the 19th century. Ranked in 1840 on the first list of Historic Monuments, it houses remarkable elements such as the altarpiece of the Passion (1476), 15th century stained glass windows and classified stalls.

The priory, organized around a cloister, included buildings such as the dormitory, the refectory, and a hotel. Some spaces preserve medieval decorations, such as 14th and 15th century murals. The facades and roofs of the old communes were registered in 2010, while the whole priory, including houses and galleries, was classified in 2011. Today, the site combines communal and private property.

Among the treasures of the church, the altarpiece of the Passion, offered by Michel de Changy, adviser to the Duke of Burgundy Philippe le Bon, consists of six polychrome walnut statues illustrating the Passion of Christ. His painted shutters, attributed to Rogier van der Weyden or to an anonymous master, carry the weapons of the donor families. A second retable of the seventeenth century, decorated with a Virgin in a central niche, completes this artistic ensemble.

The stained glass windows, made between 1470 and 1485, bear the arms of Antoine de Balzac d'Entragues, bishop and prior. The 22 stalls of the choir, dated the last quarter of the 15th century, were classified simultaneously with the church. These elements demonstrate the historical and artistic importance of the site, linked to the clunisian and burgundy heritage.

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