La Maurienne – Site 10

Saint‐Jean‐de‐Maurienne

The Cathédrale Saint‐Jean‐Baptiste (Cathedral of Saint‐John the Baptist), the centre of the religious power of the bishopric of Maurienne, was erected in the sixth century. Its architecture then came to fuse the Romanesque styles of the eleventh century with the Gothic style of the fifteenth century, as evidenced by its cloister, built in 1450. It has retained superb stalls from the fifteenth century, the work of Geneva sculptor Pierre Bochet. Its neoclassical porch was added in 1771 to shelter the tombs of the first Counts of Savoy.
In the past, there used to be a shroud dating from 1643 and a copper bas‐relief.
The Opinel Museum presents the evolution of the manufacturing techniques of the famous knives as well as the history of the Opinel family. In 1909, Joseph Opinel patented the emblem of his trademark in accordance with the regulation laid out by the corporation of Parisian cutlers established in 1565. The blades are hallmarked with the ducal crown of Savoy above the blessing hand of Saint John the Baptist. The latter corresponds to the crest of the cathedral chapter where the relic of the saint’s three fingers has been preserved since the sixth century.
François‐Emmanuel Fodéré, a doctor of medicine born in Saint‐Jean‐de‐Maurienne in 1764, left his mark on the universities of Turin and Strasbourg. He is considered to be one of the forerunners of forensic medicine.