Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix d'Étrembières, located in Haute-Savoie, is a major achievement of Savoyard architect Maurice Novarina. Built between 1964 and 1967, it embodies the culmination of its reflection on modern religious architecture. Its sober style, combining reinforced concrete, wood and metal, reflects the constructive innovations of the post-war period, integrating parish spaces in the basement to meet community needs. The building, rectangular and surmounted by a bell tower, is distinguished by a peripheral slot allowing to penetrate an abundant natural light, highlighting the surrounding landscapes, especially the Salève mountain.

The church was listed as historical monuments on 5 February 2021 for its architectural quality and its testimony to the evolution of sacred art in the 20th century. Its interior, designed in the smallest detail by Novarina (furniture, wooden blade ceiling, slate floor), symbolizes a harmony between functionality and spirituality. The basement, accessible by two stairs near the altar, houses parish halls illuminated by concrete cells. Disacralized today, the church is located in the Pas de l'Échelle, an old border hamlet with Switzerland, marked by its proximity to the cable car of the Salève and a customs office 500 meters away.

The project, initiated in 1963, is part of a particular territorial context: Strembières, split into two cores by the white motorway and a railway line, bordering the Swiss border. The building, owned by the municipality, illustrates the adaptation of religious architecture to topographical constraints (elevated to the basement) and the expectations of a changing community. Its recent inscription among historical monuments underlines its heritage importance, both for its aesthetics and for its landscape and social integration.

Local materials (country wood, slate) and geometric shapes (four-sided roof, triangular opening evoking the Trinity) reinforce its regional anchor. The furniture, specially designed by Novarina, and the zenithal light create a contemplative atmosphere, while the cadastral plot (n°3265) is now protected. The official address, 525 rue Charles-de-Gaulle, and its Insee code (74118) confirm its membership in Haute-Savoie, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

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