Eglise clunisienne Saint-Pierre à Montambert

The church of Montambert dates from the end of the 11th century, its construction resulting from the installation of Benedictine monks dependent on the Cluniac priory of La Charité-sur-Loire. The monks will shape the village to give it its current appearance, between groves, pastures and ponds.
Initially a priory, the church quickly became a parish church and was the heart of the Montambert priory. Although some buildings have disappeared, it does not appear that there was a cloister as in many other priories; the monastic space was apparently concentrated around the dwelling (now private), the church and the annex buildings such as storage farms.
In 1530, a band of looters attacked the priory and caused significant damage; the church was ransacked and destroyed.
Of the 11th century Romanesque church, only the apse, the apsidioles, the choir and the two chapels remain today.
The real reconstruction of the church began a century later, in 1633, under the leadership of the prior Gaspard de Ramilly. The date of 1661 marks the completion of the work (it is inscribed above the portal).
During the French Revolution, the building was unused, devastated again and then sold as national property in 1796. At that time, the dilapidated church, stripped of its religious attributes and empty of all its furniture, was converted into a barn for several decades.
In 1823, François Imbart de la Tour bought the church and donated it to the commune of Montambert so that worship could be celebrated there again. The municipal council accepted and voted the necessary credits for the work, to which were added numerous donations. The much-needed repair of the roof of the spire was carried out; the ceiling of the nave concealed the framework left exposed until then.
Some twenty years later, in 1842, the building was returned to worship.
Further work was carried out at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular the raising of the walls of the nave which led to the partial obstruction of the bays of the first level of the bell tower, which were then walled up. The stained glass windows currently visible date from the 19th century.
A Cluniac site, the church has been protected as a historic monument since 1981.

The church is oriented and has a Latin cross plan.
The side chapels communicate with the nave via Berrichon passages (narrow corridors allowing direct circulation in the side chapels without passing through the transept crossing).
The old baptismal font dating from the end of the 15th century was transformed into a holy water stoup and has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1993.