Catholic church in Vignory, France

The Church of Saint-Étienne, which is dominated by the castle of the Lords of Vignory, was built at the beginning of the 11th century by Gui I de Vignory and consecrated around 1050 by his son Roger I. Roger I appropriated the lands of Vignory, which had been owned by Luxeuil Abbey since the time of Charlemagne (768–814), and dedicated the new church to Saint Bénigne of Dijon.

Saint-Étienne Church is a significant example of pre-Romanesque architecture in France, with its now-visible roof structure, its three-storey nave featuring a triforium with capitals bearing primitive carvings, and its choir within the ambulatory.

The bell tower was built in the mid-12th century and the side chapels between the 14th and 16th centuries. The side chapels house a large number of medieval statues, including several from the 15th-century sculptor’s workshop known as ‘ "de Vignory-Joinville" ’, as well as 14th- and 15th-century tombstones.

The tabernacle and the pulpit, attributed to Jean-Baptiste Bouchardon, enrich the Church of Saint-Etienne with 18th-century works. The church was listed as a historic monument in 1846 and restored between 1844 and 1860 on the recommendation of Prosper Mérimée.

It forms part of the Vignory heritage trail, which was created in 2008.