Parish church

As in many Clunisian priories, a parish church, intended for the town’s inhabitants, was located next door to the priory church, which was reserved for the monks. The one in Payerne may have been erected on the site of the first chapel built by Bishop Marius in 587. The current parish church, which was built from the second half of the 13th century and was elevated in the beginning of the 16th century, remains the place of worship for the people of Payerne who embraced Protestantism under the Reformation in 1536.