The Saint-Sauveur collegiate church is located at Grignan, in the Drôme, 25 km south-east of Montélimar. The locality which belongs to the association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France owes its charm and its celebrity to its Renaissance-style castle where Madame de Sévigné stayed in the 17th century.
The Saint-Sauveur collegiate church was built between 1535 and 1542, on the initiative of Baron Louis Adhémar, adviser, ordinary chamberlain and ambassador of François Ier (1538-1540), then lieutenant general and governor in Provence. The church was erected as a collegiate church in 1539 by Pope Paul III. One of its specificities is to be located on the side of the rock that bears the castle, which helps to accentuate the majestic character of the site, which also has powerful square towers on the facade and high buttresses.
Its style is in the tradition of southern Gothic by its plan with a single large nave, the octagonal choir, the double vaults and crossed ribs. The portal takes the ancient model of the triumphal arch, with a large semicircular bay under a triangular pediment supported by two columns with Corinthian capitals. This Renaissance facade contrasts with the Gothic interior. On the other hand, it evokes the decoration of the facades of the courtyard of the castle well. Damaged in 1566 during the Wars of Religion, the portal was restored in 1654.
Another originality of the building is its roof covering to which a balustrade was added in 1680.
Inside, the platform which allowed to attend the services communicated with a small chapel of the castle. Inside, you can also see the altarpiece and the paintings of the high altar, the woodwork of the choir, the baptismal font (16th and 17th centuries), the organ made by a maker from Namur dating from the 17th century. Finally, we will linger in front of the commemorative plaque, in the choir, dedicated to Mme de Sévigné, buried in the collegiate church in April 1696.
The collegiate church of Grignan has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1840. Open every day. Information on +33 4 75 46 56 75.
