page_title: La Valsainte Charterhouse
section_title: Restoration of the church
hierarchical_section_title: La Valsainte Charterhouse / Buildings / Restoration of the church
caption_attribution_description: Batiment principal et entrée de l'église de la chartreuse de La Valsainte (Suisse).
context_page_description: La Valsainte Charterhouse or La Valsainte situated in La Valsainte in the district of Gruyère, Canton of Fribourg, is the only remaining extant Carthusian monastery in Switzerland.
context_section_description: In the 1970s the church was thoroughly restored. All 19th century interior work was swept away (except for the stalls), including the flooring. The partition between the choir of the Fathers and that of the lay monks was removed, and the sanctuary was gutted. Work on the roof revealed, in the extreme west, two bays of 14th century vaulting in Tuffière stone, which had somehow survived the destruction of the 19th century. These are the oldest surviving part of the monastery premises.
  Warmth and vitality is given to the bare walls  by the non-figurative stained glass windows by the painter Chorderet. The tabernacle and the processional cross are both in enamel by the French artist Mirande. A Gothic Madonna of the 14th century, a gift, stands to the left of the main altar.
  Several other Carthusian monasteries have taken inspiration from the restoration of La Valsainte for work on their own churches, notably the Montalegre Charterhouse near Barcelona.
caption: Entrance of the church
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