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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Nicolas de Beaujeu, located in the Rhône department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, was built in the early twelfth century by Guichard II de Beaujeu. According to a local legend, it was erected on the site of a pond where her son drowned. The building was consecrated in 1129 by Pope Innocent II, accompanied by the abbot of Cluny Peter the Venerable and bishops, in a context of rivalry with the Antipap Anaclet II. This consecration marked its political and religious importance, Innocent II seeking the support of King Louis VI and Bernard de Clairvaux.

Church architecture, influenced by the Clunisian style, is distinguished by the use of eruptive rocks, a carpented nave, a semicircular apse and side chapels added in the 15th and 16th centuries. Among its remarkable elements are a fire, a sculpted figure squatted on a pilastre, as well as windows from the 15th and 19th centuries. Those of the chapel of the baptismal fonts, dating from the late 15th century, illustrate the martyrdom of Saints Crepinian and Crepin, patrons of tanners, while others represent hagiographic scenes as St. Nicholas raising children.

The church's murals range from the 13th to the 19th century. In the abside, neo-Roman frescoes of 1880, commissioned by Abbé Seignerin and made by Zaccheo, cover 17th century paintings discovered in 1985 but preserved for their consistency with neo-Roman altars. The north crusillon houses medieval paintings (XIIIth–XIVth centuries), possibly linked to the founding legend of the church or to St Michael. The dome, on the other hand, features a flamboyant neo-Gothic trompe-l'oeil decoration (1840–60), which was discovered during renovations.

Several items of furniture are classified in the inventory, including a pulpit of 1809, candlesticks and an 18th century altar cross, as well as paintings and statues representing saints (saint Éloi, Saint Anthony, Saint Louis de Gonzague). The romantic symphonic organ, built by Merklin Kuhn in the 1920s and restored in 2002, was offered for the 8th centenary of the consecration of the church. The building, partially classified since 1909 and fully registered in 2020, remains a major testimony of Romanesque art in Beaujolais.

Before Saint Nicholas, the parish church was Saint Martin des Etoux, who became dependent after its construction. The collegiate church of the Canons of Beaujeu, prior to the 11th century, was destroyed at the Revolution, making Saint-Nicolas the oldest preserved church in the city. Its history reflects the close links between the seigneurial power of the Beaujeu, the Clunisian Church and the political issues of the Middle Ages.

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