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Origin and history

The Priory of Notre-Dame de Vaux-sur-Poligny found its origins at the beginning of the eleventh century, founded around 1020 by Otte-Guillaume de Bourgogne as Benedictine monastery dedicated to the Virgin, the Savior and Saint Nicholas. Attached to the order of Cluny in 1029, he succeeded a pagan cult dedicated to a "Green Lady", Christianized by a chapel housing a miraculous statue of the wooden Virgin. Equipped richly by Otte-Guillaume (lands, salines, vineyards, mills), the priory remains modest with a maximum of 16 monks, competed by neighbouring abbeys such as Baume-les-Messieurs or Château-Chalon.

The monastery underwent several reconstructions after fires (1315, 1479, 17th century). In 1688, prior Jean Ignace Froissard de Broissia undertook important works: uplifting the bell tower, rebuilding the convent buildings (sleeping for 17 monks), and embellishment of the cloister. Dom Chassignet boasts in 1708 his "magnificence", but the decline begins with the beginning (1451) and internal conflicts. The Revolution closed the priory in 1790; The church is demolished, buildings partially destroyed.

Repurchased in 1822 by the diocese of Saint-Claude, the site became a small seminary after reconstruction. The church, rebuilt from 1863 to 1866 with a roof in varnished tiles, was inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1927. The seminary, transformed into a private college in 1966, closed in 2009. Today, the church belongs to the commune, while the other buildings belong to a diocesan association. The original statue of Notre-Dame de Vaux (13th century), venerated as miraculous, is preserved at the bishopric of Saint-Claude.

The priory illustrates the religious and architectural changes of the Jura: medieval clunisian foundations, post-revolutionary adaptations, and educational reuse. Its cloister (galleries registered in 1998), its monumental staircase, and its neo-baroque organ (1963) bear witness to this composite heritage. The site, marked by the remote Glantine and a landscaped park of the 19th century, remains a place of memory and concerts, especially during the Journées du Patrimoine.

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