Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
Origin of the name Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
The village takes its name from the priory of Saint-Pierre. Clages, which in the Middle Ages referred to one of the four « tiers » (thirds) of Chamoson, remains unexplained.[2][6]
Founding of Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
Saint-Pierre-de-Clages is a village in the municipality of Chamoson. The site has been occupied since Roman times, but the village grew out of the priory founded there by Benedictines of the abbey of Ainay, in Lyon, probably in the 11th century (in the 12th century according to another source). A village community formed around the priory. The first houses, built of wood, were replaced by stone houses in the 15th and 16th centuries. The village then became an important stop on the road between Martigny and Sion.[1][2][5][6]
History of Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
around 407. According to tradition, a first chapel is founded in memory of the martyrdom of Saint Florentin, second bishop of Valais.[2]
11th century. The Romanesque church is built in the first half of the century (in the first third of the 12th century according to another source).[1][3]
12th century. The church receives its octagonal tower, modelled on Cluny III.[1]
1153. A papal bull names the church as a dependency of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Martin d'Ainay, in Lyon.[1][2][3]
1218. Bishop Landri grants the place as a fief to Boson, viscount of Aosta. It later passes to the de Montheolo family.[2]
1271. Count Philip of Savoy plans to move fairs to the neighbouring borough of Saillon.[4]
14th century. The priory's conventual buildings are erected. At the end of the century, wall paintings decorate a crossing pier of the church.[3][4]
1580. The monastic community is dissolved. The priory is merged into the episcopal mensa of Sion and then run by secular clergy.[1][3][4]
1623. The priory is enlarged and remodelled, as the date carved above the entrance door shows.[2][3]
1661. Canon Nicolas Mugnier buys the Rectorat house and founds a rectorate of Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel.[1][4]
1793-1795. Twelve Trappist monks driven out of France by the Revolution take refuge in the village.[1]
1828. The Grand'Maison is built; it was meant to become a hotel.[4]
mid-19th century. With the arrival of the railway, the village's role as a coaching stop declines.[4][5][6]
around 1900. A railway station is built at Saint-Pierre-de-Clages (1922 according to another source). Until then, residents used the station at Riddes.[2][6]
1940s. The painter Albert Chavaz decorates the interior of the Pinte with frescoes.[4]
1945. Mugnier's heirs give up their rights in favour of creating the parish of Saint-Pierre-de-Clages, until then part of Chamoson parish.[1][2]
1948. Restoration of the church: the Baroque windows are reduced and given neo-Romanesque frames, and Edmond Bille creates new stained glass.[3]
1963-1969. Further restoration of the church (1963-1967 according to another source). In 1969 Albert Chavaz adds an Annunciation window and Antoine Claraz makes a monumental bronze door.[3][6]
1993. The village becomes the Swiss Book Village, a member of the International Organisation of Book Towns.[1][5]
1998. The Foundation of the Rectorate of Mont-Carmel is created. The following year, the Association des Amis de St-Pierre-de-Clages becomes owner of the Maison du Livre.[1][4]
Population of Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
Sources and references: [1]
| 2000 | 476 |
Historic sites in Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
Church of Saint-Pierre. Romanesque church mentioned from 1153, with its 12th-century octagonal tower and rib vaulting added in the 17th century. Together with the former priory, it is a cultural property of national importance (A object).[1][3][7]
Former priory. Rectangular building south of the church, dated 1623. Its main entrance bears the arms of Bishop Hildebrand Jost.[3]
Rectorat house. 16th-century house on the north side of the central square, with a crenellated stair tower. It was sold in 1661 to Canon Nicolas Mugnier.[2][4][7]
La Pinte and La Croix-Blanche. Stone houses opposite the church, from the 16th and 17th centuries (15th century according to another source). The Pinte keeps Albert Chavaz's frescoes.[4][6]
Maison du Livre. Owned by the Association des Amis de St-Pierre-de-Clages since 1999. A bust of Han Suyin, godmother of the Book Village, stands in the courtyard.[4]
Former railway station. Station built around 1900, now a railway museum.[2]
Bookshops and Book Festival. The village has six permanent second-hand bookshops. Every year, on the last weekend of August, the Book Festival draws thousands of visitors.[1][4][5][6]
Remains in Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
Roman tombs. Several tombs found on the site show that it has been occupied since Roman times.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Saint-Pierre-de-Clages » (Albano Hugon), version du 13.11.2009
- Inventaire fédéral des sites construits (ISOS), « Saint-Pierre-de-Clages », commune de Chamoson, 2e version, mai 1997
- Inventaire PBC (OFPP), fiche 6682 « St-Pierre-de-Clages, église St-Pierre et ancien prieuré », texte de la Société d'histoire de l'art en Suisse
- Commune de Chamoson, « Le patrimoine bâti de St-Pierre-de-Clages »
- Commune de Chamoson, brochure générale 2025
- Sentier historique de Saint-Pierre-de-Clages et de Chamoson, Randonature, 2014
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale du Valais (objets A et B)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux de swisstopo (Saint-Pierre-de-Clages)
Other villages near Saint-Pierre-de-Clages
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