Temple of Chêne-Paquier

Close to Yverdon-les-Bains and away from major communication axes, the strange silhouette of this church emerges in front of a backdrop of fields and farmhouses. Everything is multiplied by four in the architecture of this building, like the image of the Four Gospels which are central to the Reformed confession of faith. Four small oval stained glass windows represent Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As the only decoration in this church, they soberly surmount the four immense leaded white glass windows that let the sunshine in.

Built with stones of the former sanctuary at the instigation of the local lord, the elliptical church seems to have given serious problems to the local craftsmen. According to the legend in Chêne-Pâquier, the mason who had signed the building with his initials, had annoyed the carpenter, who believed he had been given an unsolvable problem …