Lignières: Then and Now

Walking around the curve in Rue du Montilier and then turning and looking toward the northwest, we see this view of the Temple de Lignières (Place de l'Eglise, RACN 010-6456-00197).

This location has been the site of a religious edifice since at least 1493, when it was cited as the location of a chapel of the Holy Spirit affiliated with the church of Le Landeron. The chapel remained Roman Catholic until 1557 when the congregation opted for the Reform and named the village schoolmaster the first Pastor of Lignières. To the right is an extract from a map of Lignières dating from 1659 in the archives of the Bishop of Basel which shows the church in its present location, with the bell tower on the northwest face.

The medieval structure was largely demolished in 1828; only part of the foundation, the entrance to the chapel, the tabernacle, and a decorated keystone of the original vault remain. The church took its present form, preserving the existing bell tower, in the reconstruction of 1828, and was dedicated on the 9th of November of that year. The building was largely destroyed by a fire on December 21, 1913, and restored almost exactly in 1914–1915.

This post card was mailed in 1917, and probably shows the church post-restoration. The view from the other side at our last stop, from a card mailed in 1908, is necessarily before the fire. Look at how the trees have grown in ninety-odd years!