Presentation
The Friends of Old Arbresle offer a guided tour of the Gothic church of Saint John the Baptist: architecture and history of the building, furniture, statues, iconography of the stained glass windows from the 15th and 19th centuries.
The parish church of L'Arbresle, built in the 15th century and enlarged in the 19th century, is a simple building with a massive bell tower, dominated by the yellow stone of Glay. It is famous for the high quality of its apse stained-glass windows (15th century), considered among the most beautiful in the Rhône region for their composition and the intensity of their colors.
The apse and nave date back to the 15th century, while the bell tower dates from the 19th century. The stained-glass windows of the apse, installed in 1500 and listed as historical monuments, are considered among the most beautiful in the Lyon region, both for their bold composition, foreshadowing Renaissance stained glass, and for their vibrant colors. The nave has a ribbed vault of golden stone. Antique wood paneling adorns the chancel. The bell tower is unique, lacking a spire. The 19th-century stained-glass windows in the nave are the work of the master glassmaker Lobin of Tours.
Minimum age: 10 years