Saint Maurice Church

The church of St. Maurice was transformed and enlarged in the 17th century. It retains the baroque alpine decor of its altarpieces, carved, polychromatic and gilded, including the main altarpiece dedicated to St. Maurice of Agaune.

A church that reflects the exceptional and turbulent history of a village overlooked, in the Middle Ages, by a château owned by the Count of Savoy, occupied until 1860 by the operation of its saltwater spring, brought to life by thermal spas but mistreated on numerous occasions by the elements!
It is dedicated to St. Maurice, patron saint of the House of Savoy. The main altarpiece is decorated with a painting representing the massacre of the Theban Legion, commanded by Maurice, who was serving in the Roman army. This took place in the late 3rd century, when proclaiming your faith was still risky business!
On the right of the church is the Rosary altarpiece, a listed monument that may have been realised by Jacques Clérant in 1677. There is also another listed monument hidden behind it, at the back of the nave: take a moment to admire the little 12th-century white marble altarpiece, which is still worth a look in spite of having suffered the ravages of time.
In front of the church is an intriguing gravestone: it belongs to the knight Merme, a soldier who had an extraordinary career during the Revolution and the Empire. He was one of the few survivors of the Russia campaign and lived out the rest of his days in Salins, where he was born.