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Baume les Messieurs
The abbey church of St. Pierre is attractively situated in a narrow fairly isolated valley. The abbey dates from the 10th C and the current church from the 11th and 14th C. The schematic below identifies most of the interior as Romanesque (the red areas). The abbey was integrated into the Cluniac world in 1147 and remained affiliated with Cluny until the 17th C. In the 11th C it was one of the most important abbeys in the Franche-Comte. It then had a brief period of independence and was secularized in 1759. After the Revolution it was abandoned by the remaining monks and became a parish church. The interior is sparse and overall, this is a very attractive church.
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Baume-les-Messieurs is located about 12 km ENE from Lons-le-Saunier. It is worth a visit if you are in the area. The bottom two images are from Eglises Romanes du Jura, top right is a photo I took and the others are from postcards.
Chateau Chalon
The eglise St. Pierre in Chateau Chalon dates from the 12th C. Chateau Chalon is situated on a high promontory with great views of the surrounding countryside. The church was part of a Benedictine abbey and became a women's abbey until it was disbanded during the Revolution. Today it is the parish church for Chateau Chalon. Not atypically, the church has undergone a number of renovations and restorations, modifying both the interior and exterior of the building. The interior picture and schematic is from Eglises Romanes du Jura.
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Chateau Chalon is about 13 km north of Lons-le-Saunier.
Gigny
The abbey site in Gigny dates from the end of the 9th C. My information on the church comes from several pamphlets available at the church.This initial settlement functioned under the auspices of the Pope. In 910 12 new monks arrived and the abbey became a dependency of Cluny. It's importance decreased over time and there were few monks there by the 15th C when its status changed. The on-site literature says it became a 'commende,' where the prior was named by the king who collected revenue and shared it with the king. In 1760 the church was 'secularized' and the monks became a college, and this a 'collegiate' church. After the Revolution, it became a parish church.
The initial church was destroyed by fire in 1157, which also destroyed the surrounding village. It was rebuilt in the 12th C (the 12th C elements are shown on the schematic below). War in the area and pillage and the plagues that swept Europe made for a hard time but the abbey was restored at the end of the 16th C.The church is attractive and has a Romanesque feel, even though it has significant later elements. Surprisingly, the acoustics for singing were at best so-so, a bit of a puzzle. The images top right and middle left a postcards, top left and middle right are photos.
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Lons le Saunier
St. Desire was given to the abbey of Beaume-les-Messieurs towards the end of the 11th C. It is best known for its 11th C crypt, which includes the site of the tomb for St. Desire. This has the reputation as being one of the best crypts in the Franche-Comte. The facade is 15th/16th C but the interior preserves a Romanesque feel. The acoustics are great and since we had the church to ourselves, it was an opportunity to sing Gregorian chants.
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Montbenoit
The abbey at Montbenoit dates from the 12th C. The cloister was extensively renovated in the early 20th C and has a fairly Gothic feel to it. Montbenoit is east of Besancon, NE of Pontarlier.
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St. Hippolyte has a church with an attractive 12th C tower and a Burgundian style roof. The nave of the church looks newer, although the interior architecture appears to have Romanesque elements. St. Hippolyte is on the Doubs, about 30 km south of Montbelaird on the D437.
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St Hymetiere
The church of St. Hymetiere, in a village of the same name, is an attractive 11th C eglise. The subsequent building and renovation is keeping with the original material. The dome is modern (18th C) and the sacristy was enhanced in the 16th C. The interior required extensive renovation in the 17th C due to the poor state of the church. The interior has very attractive and distinctive stone work. Note the detail above the window on the right hand picture in the second row. The church is just outside the village today, giving a nice stand-alone location. This makes it possible to see from all angles, something hard to do with many center village churches. It has the reputation of being one of the most attractive Romanesque churches in the Jura. It is worth a visit.
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Like many churches, this is surrounded by the local cemetery. Two of the graves were marked with national historical tags. One is the tomb of a WWI casualty and the second is of a young WWII casualty. Flowers at these WW grave sites is very common.
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St. Hymetiere is pretty much due north of Nantua, 30 - 40 km.
Vergnolle, E, Eglises Romanes du Jura, Centre Jurassien du Patrimoine, Lons-le-Saunier, undated.