and a Gothic choir where the vaults are supported by eight carved columns, which are identified with the family of Lord Guichard IV of Oingt. One of his daughters, Marguerite d'Oingt, was one of the first writers in Franco-Provençal. Due to a lack of male descendants, the lordship of Oingt passed to the Fougères family, then in 1525 to the Châteauneuf family of Vivarais, who took the name Châteauneuf de Rochebonne. The village of Oingt was completely destroyed in 1562 by the Baron des Adrets and this was followed by an epidemic of plague that decimated much of the population of the village. The last lord in the line of Châteauneuf de Rochebonne was Charles-François de Châteauneuf de Rochebonne, Archbishop of Lyon from 1731 to 1740. After him, the lordship was sold. On 26 June 1757, lightning struck the steeple, built in 1745, killing six people and striking down two hundred, forty of whom suffered injuries. Tradition says that only the priest was spared. In the last fifty years, the village has been restored to preserve its historical treasures. The castle chapel has been the object of particular care and today, as the village church, it is known for the fine quality of the columns of the choir and its statuary. The program continues with the old 15th-century town hall (which currently houses a variety of exhibitions), the paving stones of Trayne-Cul street, one of the oldest in the village, the development and opening to the public of the Keep, the establishment of street lighting in the village, as well as the refurbishment of the town hall and the lavoir ("washhouse, public laundry"). These efforts have been rewarded with the addition of Oingt to the list of the "Most beautiful villages of France". Below the village to the west is the château de Prony, one of whose owners was Gaspard-François-Marie-Riche de Prony (1755-1839), engineer, member (eventually president) of the French Academy of Sciences and Engineer-in-Chief of the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. Like many French towns, Oingt suffered damage during the violent storms of December 1999. The school, church and many roofs mostly west of the village were the victims of this storm which also affected forests to the northwest of the town. See also Communes of the Rhône department References Former communes of Rhône (department) Plus Beaux Villages de France Rhône communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia