Chapelle des Papeteries

The chapel, desired by the papermaker (and mayor) Victor Blanchet for his workers, was built on land overlooking the Blanchet paper mills, located to the east of the town. In 1846 he called on the architect Berruyer, who had just completed his first religious building in Isère (the church of La Buisse) and would become famous just afterwards with the construction of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de La Salette. .
The architect showcases his skills and technical prowess (cantilevered bell tower, profusion of sculptures). For ease of placement, it is oriented northwest-southeast. It has modest dimensions (12m long by 6m wide) and a simple plan (a single nave with three bays extended by a semicircular chancel). The neo-Romanesque porch is topped by an imposing openwork bell tower, built on corbels.
The building is a true testament to the expertise in the use and implementation of materials: white limestone in cut stone for the steps, columns of the entrance porch, spire of the bell tower and bases of the buttresses, tufa for the side walls and the apse and molasse for the facade, the buttresses, the window frames, the cornice and the columns of the bell tower.
Externally, the rich sculpted decoration of geometric motifs combines oriental and medieval inspiration in a harmonious blend that gives this architecture its unique character and firmly places it within the eclectic style of the 19th century. The doorway is surmounted by a tympanum adorned with a Virgin and Child in a mandorla, presented and supported by two angels in profile on either side. Covered by a barrel vault, the interior walls are adorned with murals by the artist Alexandre Debelle, who also designed the stained-glass windows that illuminate the chapel. A student of the painters Gros and David, and the author of the famous historical painting "The Day of the Tiles, June 7, 1788," Alexandre Debelle was a major artistic figure in the Isère region during the 19th century.

The building has obtained the “Heritage in Isère” label,
rewarding the heritage quality of a building of departmental interest.

All year, every day.
Visit on request by appointment at the Town Hall.

Free.