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Origin and history

The Sainte-Marie church of Saint-Hymetiere, located in the southwest of the Jura in Franche-Comté, finds its origins in a local tradition reported in the seventeenth century by historian Jean-Jacques Chifflet. According to this tradition, a monk named Hymeretius (or Imetier), originally from the Abbey of Condat (present-day Saint-Claude), settled in the V‐VIth century in the desert valley of Valouse to found a hermitage. At his death, considered a saint for his virtues, his relics were placed in a chapel transformed into a church in the next century. Archaeological excavations (1986, 2010) revealed some 30 burials around the building, dating from the sixth century to the late Middle Ages, confirming an early occupation of the site, possibly linked to a Romano-burgon necropolis.

The present church, built in the 11th century, depended on a priory attached to the cathedral chapter of Mâcon, as evidenced by its Romanesque style close to the buildings of Mâconnais. A disaster at the beginning of the 17th century severely damaged the nave, the north side and the south crusillon, requiring partial reconstruction around 1634. The masterpiece retained the recoverable Romanesque elements (volumes, light) while adding a bell tower, a western facade and a vaulted porch. The relics of Saint Hymetière, exhumed in 1653 by order of the archbishop of Besançon, were then placed in a shawl near the high altar.

Classified as a Historic Monument in 1913, the church illustrates the persistence of a place of worship since late antiquity, marked by a hybrid architecture combining Burgundy Romanesque and Baroque restorations. Its strategic location, on a glacial terrace at 440 m above sea level, dominates the mountain-framed valley at 800 m, highlighting its historic role as a spiritual and community gathering point in this remote Jura region.

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