Church dating from the XNUMXth century, housing a choir covered with XNUMXth century paintings, in particular the painting of St Jacques le Majeur (on the side of the building) attesting to the passage of the way of St-Jacques-de-Compostelle in the town.

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Church of Saint Maurice

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Lane of the Counts of Forez

42155 Saint-Jean-Saint-Maurice-sur-Loire

All year, every day.

Part of the guided tour of the Village.

The church of Saint-Maurice, whose origin dates back to the XNUMXth century, was the chapel of the castle, hence its name of castle chapel. All that remains from the Romanesque period is the flat chevet and the three bays on the southern facade, updated during repair work. The physiognomy of the building has been modified over the centuries: a side aisle was added to the north in the XNUMXth century, and the bell tower, whose weight threatened the vault, was moved to the sacristy. At the end of the XNUMXth century, a brick ceiling replaced that of the XNUMXth century hiding painted beams.

The choir of the church, separated from the nave by a beam of glory, is completely covered with wall paintings dating from the end of the XNUMXth century: a real comic strip, cut into registers separated by friezes with different motifs, evoking scenes Bibles of the New and Old Testament. In the part most oriented to the east, the artists of the Middle Ages have chosen to evoke the legends of Saint Nicolas and Saint Maurice, patron saints of the village.

In the embrasure of a bay on the right of the building, a fresco was discovered during work undertaken in 1999. It represents Saint Jacques in pilgrim's attire, wearing a cape, armed with his staff (the bumblebee ) and wearing a hat. The foot of the disproportionately large figure refers to the function of a walker...
This fresco attests to the position of Saint Maurice on the road linking Cluny to Puy-en-Velay, one of the many routes taken by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

Text taken from the website www.les-amis-42155.com. With the authorization of the association "Les Amis de St-Jean-St-Maurice-sur-Loire".

Further information :
Minimum number of people: 10 Possibility of hosting several groups at the same time.