Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Pierre church of Bussy-le-Repos, located in the village of the same name in the Yonne, was founded in the early 13th century under the impulse of Guillaume aux Blanches Mains, Archbishop of Sens, and Pierre de Courtenay. From this first construction, only the gate adorned with flower-decorated capitals remains. The village, created as a stop for changing horses on the road leading to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, owes its name "Le Repos" to this practical function. The building, from plan to Latin cross, presents a Troyian Gothic choir, built in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, whose capitals are decorated with instruments of the Passion.

The choir, higher and richly decorated than the nave, suggests an unfinished enlargement project, the limited development of the village having stopped the work. The nave, modest and supported by massive pillars, was once maintained thanks to the contributions of the inhabitants. After a fire in 1873, the wooden ceiling was rebuilt by architect Paul Sédille, whose father-in-law owned the nearby castle of Boisrond. The present bell, named Louise-Marie-Pauline and baptized in 1871, replaces a bell dating from 1667. The interior, soberly furnished, houses modern stained glass windows installed in 1965 by Abbé Cools, as well as remarkable elements such as a statue of Saint Euverte in wood and a Renaissance glass window depicting the Virgin.

Among the notable objects, the tombstone of Guillaume Clément, rich labourer and merchant of Bussy died in 1532, and of his wife Guillemette Leclerc (died in 1572), classified as a historical monument in 1992, bears witness to local social history. The church, dedicated to Saint Peter, now belongs to the parish of Saint-Alpais of the dean of Senonais, whose main church is Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Villeneuve-sur-Yonne. It also preserves Saint Sulpician statues and paintings from the 17th and 19th centuries, reflecting the artistic and religious evolutions of the region.

External links