Bell of Son du Serre

The small aedicule that can still be seen bears witness to the medieval past of Briançon. Even though its appearance may have changed over the centuries, its location has remained unchanged, as shown on the relief plan of Briançon drawn up in 1735. Today it still houses a bell. The original bell was cast in 1716 to make the big bell for the Collegiate Church. Nearby, a guardhouse was built from which soldiers could sound the alarm
Fires were frequent in Briançon but two were particularly memorable. The first, in 1624, started in the Place du Temple. In the middle of winter, two women had come to steal apples and chestnuts from the hayloft of a rich merchant; the boy who accompanied them dropped his candle in the hay and the fire quickly caught. The canal of the Grande Rue was frozen, the snow was absent from the roofs, the winter being very dry and moreover the wind began to blow. The fountains were quickly exhausted. The inhabitants took wine from the cellars to try to extinguish the flames but ended up drinking it out of spite. Briançon burned almost entirely but there were no casualties. The inhabitants took refuge outside the town and watched their houses burn. In the winter of 1692, a new fire forced them to rebuild everything. There is talk of revenge between a soldier and his landlady...