Challand Saint-Victor Parish Church of St. Victor

The parish church of St. Victor is a wonderful religious building located in the small town of Challand-Saint-Victor, in the lower Val d’Ayas, at 765 meters above sea level.When and by whom the church of San Vittore was builtThe parish church of St. Victor was built in the 16th century thanks to funding from the counts of Challant.

The church still preserves traces of the passage of this ancient noble family.
In fact, above a buttress of the structure is a keystone engraved with the noble family’s coat of arms.

The present building should in fact date back to the 1500s, and we know that it was consecrated exactly in 1521.
The facade of the church underwent restoration in 1670.

The parish church of St. Victor in detail

The rectangular-plan parish church of San Vittore has a single nave and a portico protecting the entrance.
The 17th-century portal in carved and sculpted stone is marvelous.

Inside, the Baroque altars made of carved, painted and even gilded wood are of great artistic interest.
A valuable wooden crucifix dating from the 15th century is preserved in the single nave of the church.

The walnut choir stalls date from the late 17th century and bear a series of coats of arms of ancient noble families of the parish.

Behind the apse also rises a bell tower, which is located there because of the new orientation of the church starting in the 17th century.
The bell tower collapsed in 1755 and was rebuilt a few years later, in 1762, but retained its original medieval style at the base.