Abbey of Notre-Dame de Belleville
Bella Villa / Bellavilla / Belleville-sur-Saône
(Belleville-en-Beaujolais, Rhône)
The priory of Augustinian canons of Notre-Dame de Belleville, later raised to the status of an abbey, was founded in 1158 by Humbert III of Beaujeu, with the involvement of Héracle de Montboissier, Archbishop of Lyon and brother of Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny. In its early phase, until 1198, the community was linked to the collegiate church of Saint-Irénée in Lyon.
In 1164, the founder granted the house abbatial status and made further donations; the first abbot was Stephanus, formerly prior of Saint-Irénée. In 1168, under Abbot Landri, the foundation stone of a new church was laid; the building was blessed in 1179. The church became the burial place of the lords of Beaujeu. At the beginning of the 15th century, during the Gothic period, it was partially rebuilt. In 1657, in the context of the Wars of Religion, Belleville suffered severe damage, which also affected the abbey and its church.
In 1769, Belleville was incorporated into the Congregation of Sainte-Geneviève, but this union was short-lived. From 1790 onwards, following the Revolution, the abbey was suppressed. The church was converted into a Temple of Reason and did not regain its religious function until 1804. Today, only the church survives, a large building that retains its Romanesque structure: three aisles of nine bays, a transept with two apsidioles in the arms, and an eastern end with three apses corresponding to the aisles.
South portal
Capitals of the west portal
Church floor plan
Belleville-sur-Saône. Congrès archéologique de France (1936)
Illustration from Album du Lyonnais (1843)
- BOITEL, L. (1843). Album du Lyonnais. Villes, bourgs, villages, églises et châteaux du département du Rhône. Lyon : Boitel
- BROSSE, Jacques; i altres (1966). Dictionnaire des églises de France. II, Centre et Sud-Est. Robert Laffont
- CHAMBEYRON, Abbé Victor (1845). Premier essai sur Belleville, ou Recherches archéologiques et historiques au sujet de l'église Notre-Dame de Belleville-sur-Saône. París, Lió: Périsse
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1936). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 1. Mâcon: Protat
- GUIGUE, M.-C. (1885). Cartulaire lyonnais. Lyon: A. Typographique
- MEHU, Eugène (1903). Excursion archéologique à Belleville et à Saint-Jean d'Ardières. Bulletin de la Société des sciences et arts du Beaujolais. Villefranche
- OURSEL, Raymond (1990). Lyonnais, Dombes, Bugey et Savoie romans. La nuit des temps, 73. Zodiaque
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1725). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 4. París: Typographia Regia
- VALLERY-RADOT, Jean (1936). Belleville-sur-Saône. Congrès archéologique de France, 98 ss. Société française d'archéologie
The church of the former canonry stands in the centre of Belleville-en-Beaujolais (Rhône), north of Lyon, on the road towards Mâcon