Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Giovanni Battista

The parish church of Saint John the Baptist stands on the main square of Gressoney-Saint-Jean. Begun in 1515 and enlarged in 1753, it preserves a Walser religious heritage that includes a seventeenth-century portico and a parish museum with a medieval wooden crucifix.

Why it matters

The church records the development of the Walser community around the settlement known as de Platz. Its successive building phases, from the early sixteenth-century foundation to the eighteenth-century enlargement, reflect the growth of the parish and the role of the church in the life of the Lys valley.

What to notice

The bell tower originated with the first church and was later raised; its present pointed copper spire replaced an earlier stone one. A 1626 portico runs along the south side and contains chapels with paintings of the Mysteries of the Via Crucis, known locally as d'Gheimnisse. A stone cross dated 1735 stands in the square. The parish museum preserves a wooden crucifix dated to the thirteenth century.

Context and history

The Walser community established the church in 1515 at the settlement of de Platz. It was enlarged in 1753 as the population and resources of the parish grew. The portico and cross in the former cemetery square show how the church organised devotional and communal life. The local name Sent Johanz chelcho reflects the Greschòneytitsch language of the valley.