Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Pierre de Lémenc church, located in Chambéry en Savoie, is built on the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Mercury, possibly from the 6th century. It would thus be the oldest church in the city and one of Savoy's oldest. Founded by the Benedictines of the Abbey of Ainay in the 11th century, it retains Romanesque elements, while its reconstruction in the early 16th century adds to it a Gothic architecture "flamboyant rural". Its Renaissance bell tower (1553) and 19th century stained glass windows, signed Lucien Bégule, illustrate its many transformations.

The crypt, classified as a historical monument since 1900, is one of the oldest remains of Savoyard Christendom. It is 25 metres long and consists of a six-column rotunda (IXth–XIth century), whose use remains uncertain (Carolingian Baptistery or monumental reliquary?), a three-nave Romanesque section, and a Gothic apse with a 15th century polychrome tomb. The Renaissance murals, attributed to Jean Baudichon (1510), and the sibylls decorated with banners add an exceptional artistic dimension.

The church, initially priorial, lost its primacy in the 15th century with the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle du château de Chambéry. After a fire in 1445, it was rebuilt between 1490 and 1513 and changed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its history is marked by changes in religious communities: Benedictines, Feuillants (16th century), then Visitandines (1618). The adjacent convent, now transformed into houses, was damaged during the 1944 bombing, which destroyed the Visitandines chapel.

The cemetery of Lemenc, the oldest in Chambéry, reveals Gallo-Roman and Merovingian traces, including an archeiposcopal cross sarcophagus. Until the 14th century, he held the monopoly of local burials. There are still graves of personalities, such as that of Madame de Warens (1699–1662), friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, or the burial of General de Boigne (1751–1830), benefactor of the city, located in the church. The cemetery, closed to concessions since 1900, partially disappeared in the 1950s to give way to a public park.

Contiguous with the church, the hill of Lemenc houses a religious complex including the convent of the Visitation (now rehabilitated in housing), Carmel, and the chapel of Calvary. The surrounding area, marked by villas of the Belle Époque and shared gardens (since 2015), reflects the urban evolution of Chambéry. The church, still in operation, hosts weekly offices, although its fragile crypt has been closed to the public since 2013.

The protections for historical monuments concern the crypt and the tomb (classified in 1900), as well as the rest of the building (registered in 1966). These distinctions underline its heritage importance, mixing ancient, medieval and modern heritage, while posing conservation challenges, as evidenced by the recurrent warnings about the state of the crypt since the 2010s.

External links