Nouvelle église Saint-Pierre de Thaon

The history of the new church goes back to the French Revolution, when the old church in the valley was used to make saltpetre.
By the time it was returned to worship, its condition was so pitiful that its replacement by a new church was already on everyone?s minds.

The second problem that mobilized the energies of the municipal council at the time was the cramped state of the communal cemetery. The land surrounding the church was also marshy, prompting bad tongues in the surrounding villages to say that the people of Than didn't bury their dead, but drowned them. Work began in 1838 and lasted around 2 years. The stones for the edifice came from nearby quarries, and many Thaon stonemasons were involved in their construction. The style chosen by Mme de la Rivière was "Greek". As a result, the building features numerous columns. On the outside, two large columns supporting a stone triangle reminiscent of the Parthenon flanked the church entrance. Two smaller ones were set back on either side of the doorway, supporting a stone cross. Unfortunately, the new church was to be struck down once again by a far more formidable scourge than lightning. The Second World War, which seemed to have spared the monuments during the four years of occupation, unfortunately proved destructive during the Allied landing operations. Bell towers used as observatories by the enemy were systematically destroyed, and Thaon?s was not spared the disaster.

Although the exterior of the church was rebuilt identically in the 1950s, the interior - for reasons of economy and modernity - never regained the charm of the Greek style that had so seduced the Comtesse de la Rivière, who now lies buried beneath the wall separating the sacristy from the rest of the church.