About this place
Pressed close to the Thiou canal, the Église Saint-Maurice is the oldest church in Annecy, founded in 1422 as the chapel of a Dominican convent by Cardinal Jean de Brogny. Because the Dominicans were an order of preachers, the church was built as one broad open hall rather than a maze of narrow aisles, so that crowds could gather to hear a sermon, and from 1478 noble families and craft guilds added their own private chapels along the sides. The modest outer walls conceal an exceptional interior. Restoration work in the nineteen fifties stripped away centuries of whitewash to reveal late medieval frescoes, including a striking trompe l'oeil near the choir and a monumental painted funeral panel commemorating Philibert de Monthoux, a lord and adviser to the dukes of Savoy and Burgundy who died in 1458. The church was classed as a national monument in 1957.
Key facts
- 1422 year — Founded as a Dominican chapel by Cardinal Jean de Brogny, Annecy's oldest church
- 1478 year — Noble families and craft guilds began adding the private side chapels
- 6 centuries — It has watched over the old town for roughly six centuries
📍 Place Saint-Maurice, 74000, Annecy