Saint Pierre-aux-Liens Church en Savoie

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, located in Arthaz-Pont-Notre-Dame in Haute-Savoie, finds its origins in a parish that appeared around the sixth century under the authority of the bishops of Geneva. As early as 1337, a priest named Raymond Dardel, from a local seigneurial family, was mentioned. In 1412 Bishop Jean V de Bertrand noted that the parish priest Jean Fraczon did not reside there and described the church as "ancient". A restoration was reported in 1443, followed by the addition of three chapels dedicated to the Virgin, Saint Blaise (1554) and Saint George.

In the 17th century, the church, considered old in 1720, was repaired by the parish priest Simond between 1741 and 1758. During the Revolution, the bells were confiscated in 1793, but one of them, Phyliberte (1632), was preserved. In 1803, the building, "very delabracated", motivated its reconstruction. The plans of the new church, in a Sardinian Greek cross, are designed by Captain Engineer Joseph Bard. It was consecrated in 1853 by Bishop Louis Rendu, while a neo-Gothic chapel replaced the old church on its site.

The history of the church is also marked by tensions, such as the case of the "possession" of the presbytery (1858-1897). His bells, including Jeanne-Marie (1926) and Phyliberte (classified Monument Historique in 1943), are still rhythmic today in parish life. Phyliberte, melted by Jacques Humbert, sounds the Angelus, while Jeanne-Marie, cast by the Paccards, announces the hours and the Masses. These elements illustrate the cultural and architectural continuity of the site.

Nearby, the church of Pont-Notre-Dame, built in 1446 by Jean de Grolée, initially depended on the parish of Arthaz before becoming autonomous in 1470. Despite reports of repeated ruins (XVIth–XVIIIth centuries), it was reinstated in Arthaz in 1803, consolidating the central role of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens in local religious life.

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