Doyenné St Hippolyte

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The deanery of Saint Hippolyte dates from the second half of the 11th century, it is one of the rare examples of a fortified Romanesque church. A deanery is more than a church, in fact, with the strong expansion of the Clunysois domain appeared management domains on behalf of the abbey. Thus a deanery, in addition to being a place of monastic life, serves to centralize the management of the surrounding lands on behalf of the mother abbey, Cluny. The latter, thus delegating the management of its lands ensured by its presence in the territory sometimes prone to quarrels. The monks of Saint-Hippolyte therefore had the role of controlling and managing the exploitation of the land adjoining the domain, which is why the establishment brings together economic, judicial and religious skills. A deanery is therefore, in the eleventh century a place of great importance, in addition the aforementioned site had the distinction of being a vineyard, having to supply wine for all the festivals and events taking place in Cluny.

The deanery of Saint-Hippolyte has a second characteristic, it is fortified. It was in the 13th century that these fortification works were undertaken, resulting in the construction of large masonry on either side of the bell tower.

These works have no military utility, it is simply for Cluny to show the neighboring lords, of Brançion, that it is present and above all powerful.

The collapse of the roof of the nave is not precisely dated, what is certain is that the building has been partially ruined for a very long time, probably since the 15th century, which is not not without adding a certain charm to it.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the church belonged to a private individual, whose set of buildings constituted the deanery visible in the first image. Unable to work on its conservation, he sold it for the symbolic euro to the municipality of Bonnay in 2003, the year in which the association of the Renewal of Saint-Hippolyte was quickly created.

From the start, its goal is to enhance the site which, although classified since September 10, 1913, has been abandoned for a long time. Fortunately, the first works undertaken in the 1970s by the first REMPART projects made it possible to truly remind residents and visitors of the beauty and charisma of the already forgotten building. Work remained considerable at the start of the 21st century.

This enhancement objective taken up by the Renouveau de Saint-Hippolyte responds to several motivations. First, allow the inhabitants of Bonnay and the hamlet of Saint-Hippolyte to reclaim the site, then it is a question of making the site speak as much as possible. This requires the organization of events and thus to be part of the 11th centenary of the foundation of Cluny.

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Member association in charge of the organization

Le Renouveau de Saint Hippolyte

Président du Renouveau de Saint Hippolyte
La Cré
71460 Joncy

Coming session of heritage restoration camps

Location : 71460 Bonnay / Bourgogne-Franche-Comté / France