Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Hilaire de Pesmes, located in the Haute-Saône department in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, was founded in 1153 on the initiative of François Grignet and his wife Isabeau Renevier. This religious monument, first built in a Burgundian Romanesque style, preserves from this period its carved portal and a span of the choir. His tympanum features a fresco depicting the founding couple in court clothes, worshiping a Christ of mercy. Classified as a historical monument since 1903, the church illustrates almost seven centuries of architectural evolution, marked by Gothic and Renaissance additions.

In the 13th century, the premonstrates of Corneux rebuilt the nave, while in the 14th century, the chapel Saint-Jean-Baptiste was built at the request of Marguerite de Vergy, widow of the seigneur of Pesmes. The 16th century saw major transformations: in 1525, the Romanesque bedside was replaced by a flamboyant Gothic span and apse; Between 1557 and 1563, the Andelot chapel was added under the impulse of Jean d'Andelot, the first shield of Charles Quint, and his brother Pierre, Abbé de Bellevaux. The triptych painted by Jacques Prévost in 1561, representing the Descent of the Cross, bears witness to this fat period.

The 17th and 18th centuries brought baroque embellishments: installation of the golden wooden master altar by Julien Chambert (1725), of the organ by Guillaume Mourez (1727), and reconstruction of the bell tower "à la Comtoise" in 1774 after a fire. The stained glass windows, destroyed and renewed in the 19th and 20th centuries (1945, 1962), complement this heritage. The church is distinguished by its exceptional furniture, including marble statues from the 15th to 16th centuries, Renaissance altarpieces, and a 16th-century black marble pulpit by Denis de Rupt.

The architecture of the building harmoniously blends the periods: the vaulted Gothic porch, surmounted by a high chapel, contrasts with the Romanesque naves with narrow windows, while the five lateral chapels (Romanes, Gothics or Renaissance) reflect the tastes of their sponsors. The polychrome varnished tiles of the bell tower, typical of Franche-Comté, and the modern stained glass windows of Chigot and Couturat complete to make Saint-Hilaire a jewel of Burgundy's sacred heritage.

The 1903 classification underscores the historical value of this monument, a witness to the seigneurial dynamics (family of Vergy, Andelot) and religious (pre-showed, abbots) that marked Pesmes. The archival sources, such as the works of Gaston de Beausejour (1895–1909) or those of Doctor Bourdin on Jacques Prévost, document his evolution. Today, the church remains an active place of worship, open to the visit, where medieval frescoes, Renaissance sculptures and baroque decorations are side by side, offering a unique panorama of sacred art in Franche-Comté.

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