Abbey of Saint-Rambert in Bugey

The origins of the monastery of Saint-Rambert are uncertain. According to one tradition, it was founded in the fifth century by Saint Domitian, a figure of Roman origin who is believed to have been born around 347. He later travelled to Gaul, where he stayed at the monastery of Lérins (Alpes-Maritimes) and is said to have met Saint Honoratus (c. 370–430). He eventually settled at this site in the Bugey region, where he founded an oratory and the monastery, of which he is regarded as the first abbot, and where he died in 440.

It is also known that around 1138 the abbey came under the influence of Cluny, although this situation was short-lived, as it later regained its independence. Other scattered documents are known, including a confirmation of possessions issued by Pope Celestine III in 1191. In 1196, the abbot of Saint-Rambert placed the monastery under the protection of Count Thomas I of Savoy, in exchange for the cession of the castle of Cornillon. In the fifteenth century, during the abbacy of Louis Mareschal, major reconstruction works were undertaken. In the sixteenth century, the monastery passed to the commendatory regime. Saint-Rambert then entered a long period of decline until it was secularized in 1788; the following year, the relics of Saint Rambert were transferred to the parish church.