| |
It hadn't
rained properly here for nearly
six months, so it was with some
trepidation that I cycled towards
the dark storm clouds hovering
over Crotenay. As I got there,
the heavens opened, and ignoring
the charms of the largish village
I abandoned my bike and climbed
the steep hill to the church.
Fortunately it was open, and I
pushed quickly inside to a gloomy
19th century interior, very much
in the Jura style but as
charmless as the period gets. Within fifteen
minutes the storm had passed. I
wandered outside into bright
sunshine. The dedication of the
church names the little square,
and the typical war memorial
remembers those killed when the
Germans retreated through the
Chalain area on Sunday 5 August
1944. Elsewhere in the village,
markers commemorate the places
where they fell.
The date
above the west doors says 1841,
and I think it must have been
pretty much a total rebuild,
despite the Romanesque apse. The
papal tiara and keys again recall
the dedication, and an
inscription reads Si quis
templum de viola verit
disperdetillum deus.
Even with
the sun out, the interior was
rather dull and uninspiring, the
great gothick pulpit not helping
matters much. Only gorgeous
coloured glass in the sanctuary
windows lightened the moment;
ironically, its workaday
predecessor had probably been
destroyed on that same day in
August 1944.
The village
is one of few in the area with
shops and a bar. Don't leave
Crotenay without noticing the
pretty fire engine sheltering on
the road to Monnet la Ville.
Saint-Pierre,
Crotenay, is above the village on
the D471 road between Lons and
Champagnole. I found it open.
|
|
