Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin de Purgerot, located in the department of Haute-Saône, is mentioned for the first time in 1148 in a charter of Cherlieu Abbey, then confirmed as property of this Abbey in 1161 by Archbishop Humbert de Scey and in 1198 by Odon, archdeacon of Faverney. The present building, dated the third quarter of the 12th century by its architecture, probably corresponds to this medieval church. Its Latin cross plan is the result of subsequent additions, including two chapels built at the end of the 16th century, transforming the interior space.

In the 16th century, foothills (including a date of 1548) reinforced the north wall, the nave walls were enhanced, and the bays enlarged to illuminate the interior. The bell tower is raised, and a stair turret added to access the attic. The Renaissance gate, replaced in the 17th century, has Corinthian pilasters and a triangular pediment. Restoration works (created in 1857, vaults in 1865) and repairs in the 18th and 19th centuries (carpents, stained glass windows) preserved the building, which was inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1998. Its partly classified furniture and its altarpiece of the early eighteenth century testify to its rich past.

The church illustrates the regional architectural evolution, combining the first Cistercian Gothic art (nave and vaults of the twelfth) and Renaissance elements (portal, chapels). Its history reflects links with Cherlieu Abbey, adaptations to topographical constraints (slope, runoff), and post-medieval modernization campaigns. The sources, such as the studies of Ghislaine Dard-Morel (2019), highlight his role in the county of Burgundy and his heritage value as a preserved example of the high-Saôno churches before the reconstructions of the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries.

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