Church of Saint Mary Magdalene en Savoie

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Maxilly-sur-Léman comes from a mention of 1099, where the Régeste Genevais evokes a primitive church served by the priory of Saint Paul. Between 1078 and 1120, half of his income was transferred to the priory of Saint-Victor in Geneva, illustrating his anchoring in medieval religious networks. This first building, whose precise dating remains unknown, already showed the spiritual and economic importance of the place in Savoyard Chablais.

The Protestant Reformation marked a turning point in 1536, when the Bernese invasion transformed the parish into a Protestant enclave. This religious change reflected the religious tensions of the time, with lasting consequences for local life. More than a century later, in 1794, the bell tower was razed and the church stripped of its furniture, probably in the context of revolutionary upheavals, although the sources lacked to specify the exact circumstances.

The total reconstruction of the church in 1828, in a style reproducing that of the old building with a unique nave, marked its rebirth as a place of Catholic worship. This restoration was part of a broader movement to restore religious heritage after revolutionary unrest. Today, the church embodies both the medieval heritage of Chablais and the cultural transformations of Haute-Savoie in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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