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Origin and history

The Saint-Brice de Thairy Church is a neo-Baroque Catholic building located in the hamlet of Thairy in the commune of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois (Haute-Savoie). This hamlet, formerly an independent parish including the current Swiss village of Soral, was attached to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois in 1965. The church is dedicated to St.Brice, Bishop of Tours, and its architecture includes baroque elements such as stuccos, angelelion medallions and a vault.

In 1768, under the Kingdom of Sardinia, Bishop Jean-Pierre Biord observed the state of ruin of the building during a pastoral visit and ordered its reconstruction. The works, completed around 1772 (dated engraved on a stone), retain a bell tower probably dating from 1637 or 1687. This bell tower, characteristic with its two octagonal bulbs, houses a clock and a belfry of three bells. The western facade features a molass portal topped by an interrupted pediment.

The history of the church is marked by military events and periods of decline. In 1814, bayonet fighting took place at the Battle of Saint-Julien. In the twenty-first century, its condition deteriorated: closed to the public in 2006 due to the risks of collapse, it has since been documented pending renovation. Its interior, decorated with stuccos and illuminated by curved windows, houses a master altar older than the building, topped by a painting depicting Saint Brice.

The building illustrates the architectural and political transformations of Savoy, moving from the Kingdom of Sardinia to France, while preserving traces of its parish and military past. Its neo-baroque style, rare in the region, and its iconic bell tower make it a remarkable local heritage, although threatened by abandonment.

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