Priory of Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans

Around 1130, Guichard d’Anthon, lord of this area, made a testamentary donation by which he granted Saint-Maurice to the Abbey of Saint-Martin d’Ainay in Lyon. The abbey is thought to have established there a small rural priory, initially known as Saint-Maurice d’Anthon. Other sources, however, suggest that the priory may already have been founded around the year 1000. Very little information is available about this establishment, as its documentation has been lost; nevertheless, it is known that in 1153 Pope Eugenius III issued a bull confirming its dependence on the abbey of Ainay.

The church preserves its Romanesque chancel and a nave covered by a barrel vault, elements that can be dated between the 12th and 15th centuries, with several later modifications, including the lengthening of the nave and the construction of a massive buttress. The walls are built of rounded stones. A large bell tower rises over the crossing. Inside, several capitals with varied decoration have been preserved, mainly vegetal in character, which can be dated to the first third of the 12th century. Mention should also be made of the remains of mural painting, probably dating from the late 15th or early 16th century, discovered in 1959.