Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Maurice de Fessevillers, located in the Doubs department in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is mentioned for the first time in 1177 by the archbishop of Besançon, Humbert de Scey. The latter then entrusts his management to the prior of Lanthenans. The present Gothic-style building was mainly built in the 15th century, before being thoroughly remodeled in the 19th century, notably by the addition of a foreground on columns and the reconstruction of the nave, marked by a triumphal arch separating it from the flat-bed choir.

The 15th-century bell tower has a roof in the pavilion and bays in the middle of the hanger, while the fore and ceiling nave are 19th-century additions. The church houses remarkable furniture, including funerary slabs of master glassmakers active in the seventeenth century (Jean Raspiller, Georges Raspiller, Melchior Schmid and Cunegunde Leymeh), as well as a statue of Sainte Cécile in cut wood, classified as a historical monument in 2003. These elements bear witness to the link between the building and the local crafts, in particular the glass factory of the Plain, closed in 1710.

Classified as a historical monument since 30 March 1998, the church now depends on the parish of the Plateau de Maîche, attached to the diocese of Besançon. Its architecture thus combines medieval heritage and modern transformations, reflecting the religious and artisanal evolutions of the region. The blanket in lava and the funerary furniture recall its anchoring in local history, between cult and memory of crafts.

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