Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens de Palleau was founded in the 6th century, when a first chapel was built in the Port, accompanied by a cemetery used until the 16th century. In 1006 King Robert II the Pious entrusted his maintenance to a monastic community, marking the foundation of the priory whose remains remain of the eighteenth century. The building, threatened with ruin in 1730, was completely rebuilt in bricks, then renovated in 1780 (roof, foothills, bays).

Lightning struck the bell tower on the night of May 23-24, 1907, reducing the church to ashes. Its reconstruction began in 1908, and the new building was blessed on October 27, 1909, with the installation of a bell. Major works took place in 1994 (roof, paintings) and 2001-2002 (labour). The 17-metre nave, extended by a 12th-century choir with broken cradle arches, houses a lambrissed vault supported by working farms.

The furniture includes a 1920 high altar, offered by the inhabitants, and a shawl containing the relics of Saint Antide, bishop of Besançon martyred in the fourth century. These relics, transferred to Palleau in 1360 by Archbishop John of Vienna, were authenticated several times. A silver frame, stolen in 1560, was replaced by an oak and copper version. A painting by Peter Guyénot (1939), The Resurrection of Christ, adorns the nave.

The church now belongs to the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-des-Trois-Rivières (seat at Verdun-sur-le-Doubs) and remains an active Catholic place of worship. Its history reflects religious upheavals, successive reconstructions and local attachment to both spiritual and architectural heritage.

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