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Villages / Bern / Former La Neuveville district / Blanche Église

Blanche Église

Site Canton of Bern · Former district: La Neuveville · Uninhabited site (municipality of La Neuveville)
Part of the municipality of La Neuveville
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Blanche Église

The sanctuary appears on 19 March 866 as «Sancti Ursicini capella», the chapel of Saint Ursicinus, to whom it was dedicated. It has been called Blanche Église since 1276, and the rebuilt church was consecrated in 1345 under the name «Ecclesia Alba».[1][2][4][5]

Founding of Blanche Église

The church stands at the edge of the medieval town, above the road to Biel, on a spot inhabited since the Bronze Age. A first small religious building was put up here in pre-Carolingian times, probably in the 8th century, long before the town was founded. The chapel first belonged to Moutier-Grandval abbey, then passed to Bellelay abbey, which drew tithes here and obtained its patronage.[1][2][3][5]

History of Blanche Église

8th century. A small pre-Carolingian chapel is built on the site.[2][3]

866. On 19 March a charter of Lothair II confirming the possessions of Moutier-Grandval abbey mentions the chapel of Saint-Ursanne.[1][2][4]

Shortly before the year 1000. The first choir is built.[2][3]

1141. The chapel and its dependencies pass to Bellelay abbey. The popes confirm the donation in 1148, 1181 and 1185.[2][4]

Around 1200. The tower rises north of the choir.[2][3]

1276. The sanctuary is now called Blanche Église.[1]

1345. On 14 September prince-bishop Jean Senn de Münsingen consecrates the largely rebuilt church, under a pointed ceiling.[2][4][5]

1458. Enlarged chapels to the north and south give the church roughly its present size.[2][3][4]

Late 17th century. After the Reformation the Blanche Église loses importance to the chapel of Saint Catherine, which became the Protestant church in 1720.[2][3]

1721. The lower floor of the tower, whose spire had been renewed in 1708, is turned into a powder magazine.[2][3]

1828. A demolition plan fails by a single vote.[2]

1837. The north chapel, close to collapse, is demolished, the north wall rebuilt 3 m further south and the pointed ceiling replaced by a flat one. A neo-Gothic porch is added to the west.[2][3]

1912-1914. Restoration of the choir brings the frescoes back to light. In 1914 the church receives a round-arched ceiling and carved chandeliers given by Edouard Louis senior.[2][3][4][5]

1984-1988. Archaeological excavations and a new restoration. The church reopens in 1988 with a 16-stop organ by the Manufacture de Saint-Martin.[1][2][3][4]

Historic sites in Blanche Église

Wall paintings. The frescoes date from the second half of the 14th and the early 15th century. In the nave are the creation of Eve, the blessing of the first couple and an Adoration of the Magi with five kings. The choir shows the Virgin at prayer with the inscription «Ave Maria gratia plena», the Holy Face on Veronica's veil and, on the vault, the four evangelists. The rest of the building received Baroque decoration in 1639.[2][3][5]

Pulpit of 1536. It bears the arms of the castellan Vincent de Gléresse and his wife Hélène de Luternau.[2][3]

Stained glass. The choir window, given in 1907 by Professor Kocher of Bern and his wife, shows the town arms with the motto «Des Herren Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit». The nave windows, of 1920 and 1936, are by the Valais artist Bille.[2][3]

Baptismal font. Turned into a communion table and moved into the choir at the Reformation, it regained its place and function in 1988.[2][3]

Remains in Blanche Église

Settlements beneath the church. The excavations of 1984-1988 uncovered a Bronze Age stone foundation for a dwelling, around 2000 BC, an Iron Age wooden house, around 300 BC, and a Roman paved floor beneath the remains of the first chapel.[2][3][4]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Neuveville, La (commune) » (Pierre-Olivier Léchot, version du 21.10.2019)
  2. Paroisse réformée de La Neuveville, « La Blanche Église » (histoire)
  3. Visite d'église, « Blanche Église (La Neuveville) »
  4. Chronologie jurassienne, « Blanche-Eglise » (La Neuveville, églises)
  5. Monuments vaudois, résumé de l'article de Philippe Boillat, « Les peintures murales médiévales de la Blanche Eglise de La Neuveville » (n° 8, 2018)

Other villages near Blanche Église

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