Bell tower of Our Lady of Mercy

In 1619 the decision was taken to build the chapel, but it was in 1663 that the tower was raised to serve as a bell tower for the chapel.

The only vestige of the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Pitié, this building has been listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments since 1984. It is located rue du Vieil Hôpital, and belongs to a group of houses from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Until the 16th century, the only parish of Serrières was Saint-Saturnin, today the Mariners' Museum located in the Saint Sornin district. Saint Sornin was a different entity from Serrières. The inhabitants of Serrières used the castle chapel. In 1575, during the Wars of Religion, the castle was burned down. The Serrièrois then asked that a parish church be built. The construction was decided in 1619 and completed in 1620.
The Notre-Dame de la Pitié chapel, whose base is in the bed of the Vergelas stream, stands on the site of the former Serrières hospital. The bell tower had been raised from a watchtower of the old hospital. The chapel was used until 1685, because during the visit of the Archbishop of Vienna on which it depended, he found the place of construction indecent and noisy (proximity to the stream and noise from the carts nearby).
It was then decided to build a church more in the center of Serrières, and its blessing took place on September 28, 1703. The old chapel was sold a few years later, on the condition of preserving the tower which can still be seen today. today. All that remains in the bell tower is the weight mechanism of the old clock.
It is in this chapel that on February 12, 1790, the establishment of the first municipality of Serrières took place.