Sacred heritage of the Park
A wealth of sacred heritage in the Park
The Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut Park boasts many unique and exceptional examples of sacred heritage. Its territory is clearly divided into two geographical zones, with Gruyère remaining Catholic on the one hand, and the Vaud and Bernese lands having adopted the Protestant Reformation on the other.
The villages of Gruyère and their surrounding areas are dotted with churches, chapels, oratories, ways of the cross, grottoes of Lourdes, crosses of roads, missions and summits. The architecture of these religious buildings is often simple, with roofs sometimes covered in tavillons, contrasting with the remarkable splendour of the liturgical furnishings and interior decoration. These manifestations of popular piety express an ancestral attachment to the faith and represent a Christian marker of the landscape.
In the Pays-d'Enhaut, the Reformation was introduced despite the reluctance of the local population. In addition to the secularisation of the Rougemont convent, the sobriety of the temples reflects Reformation thinking. The temples of Château-d'Œx and Rossinière, with their tavillon roofs, dominate their villages. Today, alongside parish activities, these buildings host cultural events such as the Folia and Bois qui chante festivals. Finally, three Anglican churches - in Les Avants, Château-d'Œx and Caux - bear witness to the expansion of English tourism at the end of the 19th century.
A Cluniac site of international importance
In Rougemont, the church of Saint-Nicolas was built by the monks of Cluny between 1073 and 1085. All that remains of the priory - the only convent in the Vaud Alps - is the church, which bears witness to Romanesque architecture, the Reformation and the Bernese presence.
Two Carthusian monasteries in the area
In the Middle Ages, the disciples of Saint Bruno founded two monasteries within the Park's current boundaries: the Chartreuse de La Valsainte, still in operation, in the municipality of Val-de-Charmey (Cerniat), and the Part-Dieu, in the municipality of Gruyères, secularised in 1848.