Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Maurice church of Caromb, situated on a rocky spur outside the walls of the fortified village, was built of local stone in the early 14th century. His consecration in 1421 was attested by a commemorative marble plaque in the sacristy, stating that the work began in 1333. The building, placed under the name of St.Mauritius — which, according to tradition, would have stopped at Caromb on his journey to Gaul — houses a triptych painted in 1553 by Rollier in the baptismal chapel, illustrating this legend. His history was also marked by his collegiate status at the end of the 15th century, when Anne de Courtois, wife of the Lord Étienne de Vesc, set up six canons there and built the "Chambre des Hommes", where her husband lay in a carved tomb.

Ranked a historic monument in 1849, the church combines Gothic architecture with Baroque elements. Its Latin cross plan includes a vaulted nave of broken cradles, a transept, and a pentagonal choir adorned with dogive vaults and a key representing an Agnus Dei. The sober facade, pierced by a gate framed by foothills, houses a statue of the Virgin (1721), offered to protect the village from the plague, as well as a rosette and a sundial. Inside, the golden statues of the nave, the baroque triptych, and the contemporary stained glass windows of Jean-Marie Benoit (1974) bear witness to his artistic richness.

The furniture includes classified rooms, such as an organ of 1701 and the Gothic tomb of Stephen de Vesc, located in the seigneurial chapel. The building, a communal property, thus combines seven centuries of religious, seigneurial and artistic history, while integrating modern creations such as its stained glass windows, symbols of the cultural vitality of the local heritage.

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