Reformed Church of Notre Dame in Nyon: A Medieval Church and Protestant Temple
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Switzerland
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Savoy, Swiss
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page9 sections
History
The Reformed Church of Notre Dame in Nyon, Switzerland, is the town’s oldest Christian church. Built in several medieval phases, it began as the Catholic parish church of Notre Dame and has served as a Protestant temple since the Reformation reached Vaud under Bernese rule in 1537.
Medieval parish church
The oldest part of the building is its Romanesque choir, constructed around 1175–1200. Romanesque architecture is a medieval style known for massive forms and rounded arches. The nave developed later, with its pillars built in 1393–1394. Major works followed in 1442, when measures were taken to prevent the church from being destroyed. The existing Gothic vault and most of the side chapels were built between 1471 and 1481.
Reformation and later changes
In 1537, Bernese rule introduced the Reformation into Vaud. The former Catholic parish church consequently became a Protestant place of worship. It probably received a pulpit during this period, although that pulpit has not survived. The church belongs today to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Vaud, the canton’s Protestant regional church. The Municipality of Nyon owns the building, which continues to be used for worship and also hosts cultural activities, including concerts.
The bell tower above the choir was demolished in 1795 because its weight endangered the foundations and distorted the nave vault. A replacement tower was completed in 1936. Renovation planning began in 1997, and a detailed assessment in 2008 found serious deterioration in parts of the church. After discussions concluded in 2013, restoration and modernization proceeded under Glatz & Delachaux and Christophe Amsler, reaching completion at the end of 2016.
The restoration was intended to make the building’s successive architectural periods more legible while drawing attention to the nave, the Pentecost painting, and the stained glass by François de Ribaupierre. It also improved the acoustics and changed the liturgical arrangement. Benches were placed across the width of the church, restoring the arrangement used before 1920 and creating a more intimate setting centered on preaching. The church, its historic bells, and its organ case are protected as Swiss cultural property of national importance.
Remains
Medieval architecture and interior decoration
The church combines a Romanesque choir with a predominantly Late Gothic nave. The choir belongs to the period around 1175–1200, while the nave’s pillars date from 1393–1394 and its present Gothic vault and most side chapels from 1471–1481. This sequence of construction gives the building a layered medieval structure, with the later nave forming the principal space emphasized by the twentieth-century restoration.
A painted representation of Pentecost survives inside the church and probably dates from the second half of the thirteenth century. Pentecost is the Christian feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. The vault arches carry decoration from 1614, and a representation of the Last Supper is positioned to the right of the choir. The lower windows contain stained glass made by the Swiss artist François de Ribaupierre between 1924 and 1951, including three windows associated with the renovation of 1925.
Bell tower and bells
Medieval bells
The reconstructed bell tower was completed in 1936 and first held five bells. The oldest surviving bell dates from 1446 and carries a prayer to the Virgin Mary. Cracks prevented it from being rung before its restoration in 2013. It was taken to the Netherlands for restoration, returned in 2016, and then incorporated into the carillon, a set of tuned bells arranged to play melodies.
Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century bells
A second bell was cast in 1518 by Pocteti and Balieri. Nearly one metre in diameter, it has a thick bronze crown and carries a prayer to Jesus, Mary, and the martyrs Amancius, Alexander, Gordianus, and Macrimus. Its sides show the symbols of Peter, Andrew, and Paul, represented by a key, a cross, and a sword. Made originally for another Nyon church that later disappeared, it was installed in the temple around 1537. After the bell tower was demolished in 1795, it was moved to the Clock Tower and returned to the reconstructed tower in 1936. Severe wear in its crown led to renovation between 2013 and 2016.
The smallest bell was cast in 1617. It was first connected to the clock of the church’s small turret, later installed at the Bel-Air post office, and eventually deposited in the Museum of Nyon Castle. It returned to the church tower in 2016. Four further bells were cast in Aarau in 1936 by the bell-founder Hermann Ruetschi. With the return of the restored bells, the tower contained seven bells from 2016 onward.
Organ and gallery
An organ designed by Samson Scherrer was installed in the late eighteenth century and has approximately 2,000 pipes. Its original eighteenth-century case survives. The pipework was remade in 1963 with metal later judged to be of poor quality, so the instrument underwent an extensive rebuilding by Pascal Quoirin between 2013 and 2016. The entire pipework was remade, the historic case was restored, and the organ was reoriented toward the Classical style of its original design.
The organ gallery was lowered and narrowed during the rebuilding to reduce its intrusion into the nave and improve the acoustics. A positive organ, a small secondary organ often positioned separately from the main instrument, was removed because its arrangement was considered aesthetically and functionally unsuitable. The gallery itself had first been rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style in 1882 and reconstructed again in 1925.
