Saint Symphorien Church

The old one was a small 11th-century chapel built by the Canons of Filly Abbey. It was so dilapidated that the town council soon decided it should be demolished.
The work dragged on and on, and despite the efforts of parishioners in the form of donations and days of drudgery to transport materials, the commune, too poor to meet its debt, had to stop the work before it was even completed. The unfinished bell tower threatened to collapse, and had to be demolished before it toppled the roof. On May 5, 1874, the church was officially consecrated without a steeple.
The relics of Saint Symphorien, a native of Autun who was martyred during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius for refusing to "sacrifice to idols", have always been venerated here.
Every year, on August 22, the patron saint's feast day, a pilgrimage was organized, known and frequented throughout the Bas-Chablais region. The rite consisted in walking seven times around the building, reciting the rosary. It was said to be excellent for curing rheumatism!
Recent decades have seen the completion of the church and the construction of its superb bell tower in 1991, and the installation of a carillon donated in 1992 by Mr. Jean Guyon and his wife on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary! Each bell bears the names of their children and grandchildren.

*The 11th-century chapel used to attract a large number of worshippers to the August 22 pilgrimage. People came to pray to Saint Symphorien for healing. Around 1667, Baron Georges Bouvier d'Yvoire took his daughter Charlotte Louise to the chapel, where she was cured through the martyr's intercession. As an ex-voto, the baron commissioned a painting to the glory of Saint Symphorien. The painting depicts the martyr and his child langued with the Bouvier d'Yvoire coat of arms. The painting has been attributed to Claude Chappuis, a well-known painter in the Chablais region (Abondance also owns 2 paintings).