Vignieu: Churches, Pilgrimage and Nature

Vignieu brings together a variety of themes: church architecture, religious places of remembrance, crafts and the natural area of Les Mémoires. If you are planning a stay, you will find specific points of interest here related to local history, processions or nature. Each place and event has its own focus.

Church Architecture and Local History

The Church of Saint-Blaise offers two distinct dates in its construction history: the church building was constructed between 1877 and 1879, and the bell tower was added in 1888 to plans by the architect Chamberot. Its architectural features include a tall bell-tower porch topped with a glazed-tile spire. Alongside its construction dates, specific details of the church’s architecture are also a focus.

Another historical thread leads to Château de Chapeau Cornu. It was originally a fortified house on the site of a former Roman camp. This adds a connection to an earlier Roman site to the history of church architecture. The Lavoir du Munard, meanwhile, was built in 1880 at the intersection of Rue de l’Étang and Rue de Beauvenir. Fontaine Geneste offers another way to trace the development of the village centre: it is one of six fountains built there to complement three older fountains.

Pilgrimage Sites and Annual Processions

The Chapelle des Ayes stands on the hill of the same name. It was built at a place where the resident Teillon reported an apparition of the Virgin Mary on 25 March 1793. For residents of Vignieu and the surrounding area, the chapel is a pilgrimage site; a procession takes place there every year on Easter Monday. The chapel’s origins and the recurring tradition give this place both a historical and a religious connection.

Notre-Dame-des-Bois is also associated with a procession, but it has its own history and a different date. The statue was erected in the 19th century by the former families of the Pradel estate and watches over the village of Vignieu from the heights. Every year on 15 August, a procession makes its way to the statue to ask for protection. The two dates are easy to distinguish: the Easter Monday procession goes to the Chapelle des Ayes, while the 15 August procession goes to the Notre-Dame-des-Bois statue.

Crafts and Natural Areas

At Les Ateliers d’Isa in Vignieu, you can make your own wooden bowl or piece of stained glass in open workshops. Arrange your participation with the craftswoman. This offers a practical, hands-on experience alongside the historic sites and processions.

Les Mémoires offers a different perspective on Vignieu. The site of the sandy dune has been included in the Isère Department’s Espaces Naturels Sensibles network as a “Petit Site Naturel” (PSN023); this designation dates from February 2014. Sand extraction in the area in the 1980s and 1990s created a sandy cliff. This enabled a colony of European bee-eaters to settle there.

The Les Mémoires Espace Naturel Sensible also includes a pond, a reed bed and a fen. These three habitat types are classified as endangered in the Isère Red Book of Habitats. Protection conditions may change; check the latest information about the natural area before your visit. The dune, sandy cliff and wetland habitats offer different aspects of nature to consider when deciding whether to visit Vignieu.

The sights offer a range of points of interest for a stay: architectural history and religious traditions, as well as crafts and nature.

Discover more destinations: Pellafol, Saint-Pierre-De-Chartreuse, Chanas, Ambel, Dolomieu, La Verpillière, Chuzelles, Saint-Julien-De-Raz

For the overview of the wider region: Isere.