Saint-André Church of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne
In the facade opens a single Gothic gate with florets, cabbages and pinnacles; it is surmounted by a circular opening in bull’s eye, or an «O» as we used to say. The pinnacle ends with a small pavilion containing the public clock, which is accessed by a staircase arranged in a slightly projecting octagonal turret, above the opening.
Inside, the nave, with four vaulted bays on crossed ribs, has no aisles, but only side chapels, one on each side. The side entrance to the south has a second beautiful portal outside with flowers and pinnacles. A turret of protruding staircase gives access to the bell tower; it passes to be a vestige of the first church.
A crown of thirteen chapels dedicated to various patron saints opens onto the nave and choir. They were founded by the noble or bourgeois families of Gour, Vuilliardier, Jacob de La Côtière, Charlet, Courtois, or Epey, but also by the brotherhoods of blacksmiths and shoemakers. It is entered by a flamboyant Gothic arch with fine sculptures. The vaults on ogive cross bear keys often armored.
The church ends to the east with a choir bay and a five-sided apse, lit by three large windows with flamboyant tracery; it is covered with six vaulted quarters; the key, richly carved, carries a shield with the cross of Savoy.