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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Bénigne de Pontarlier, located in the Haut-Doubs, is a building with Romanesque, Gothic and Frankish architectural influences. It is distinguished by its bell tower topped by an imperial dome covered with varnished tiles, typical of Franche-Comté. Consecrated to Saint Bénigne, it was almost entirely rebuilt between 1651 and 1666 after the destruction caused in 1639 by the troops of Duke Bernard of Saxony-Weimar during the Ten Years War. Only the original Romanesque church (11th century) remains a 15th century portal and a few 16th and 17th century chapels.

The church's history was marked by two devastating fires, in 1680 and 1736, which severely damaged the structure. The bell tower was rebuilt in 1681, while the dome at the imperial level, the work of architect Nicolas Nicole, was completed in 1753. In the 18th century, the Louis XV organ (1758) was installed and restored in the 19th and 20th centuries. Ranked a historic monument in 1970, the church benefited from a major restoration in the 1970s, including contemporary stained glass windows signed by Alfred Manessier and the Lorin de Chartres workshops.

The building also preserves traces of its architectural evolution, such as the Notre-Dame-des-Ermites chapel (1680), the lateral façade (1739–142), and the remodeled choir at the beginning of the 19th century. Owned by the commune of Pontarlier, it now embodies a major religious and cultural heritage of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, mixing medieval and Baroque heritage.

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