© AONDH / ADAGP / René Claudel
Le Corbusier's first religious building
The story of the commission and the project
The chapel was commissioned from Le Corbusier by the Commission d’Art Sacré, with the support of the Vosges Monuments Historiques inspector and the Société Immobilière de Notre-Dame-du-Haut, owner of the site. The new chapel was to replace the one destroyed by bombing in 1944.
It must be able to accommodate pilgrims, as the chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The chapel must therefore include not only an indoor prayer space, but also an outdoor area for open-air ceremonies. The program also includes a shelter for pilgrims, a house for the chaplain and a monument to the fallen of the Second World War.
The project is conceived in harmony with the environment and does not adopt a classic plan. All curves, colors and light, the chapel is made of concrete, while the main door, designed by Le Corbusier, is enameled.
The chapel was inaugurated 70 years ago!
The Ronchamp chapel was inaugurated on June 25, 1955 in the presence of Le Corbusier. Five years later, it was listed on the Inventaire des Sites in 1960, then as a Monument Historique in 1965, before being classified two years later. Since 2016, the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel has been one of 17 Le Corbusier sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, as part of the series “The architecture of Le Corbusier, an exceptional contribution to the modern movement”.
70 years after its inauguration, Le Corbusier’s chapel has been restored and is open to the public all year round!
