Église Saint-Sernin

English translation

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History

The village is mentioned in 1157 as "villa Sanctus Saturninus". Other texts from the 12th century indicate fiefs there of the Hospitallers of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem of the Commandery of Narbonne. From the 13th century onwards, the seigneury of Pouzols belonged to the monastery of Fontfroide. The ecclesiastical tithes belonged, for 2/3 to the cathedral chapter of Narbonne and for 1/3 to the cure. The church consists of a single nave and a semicircular sanctuary. To the north of the first two bays, the side chapel and the sacristy are modern. To the south of the nave are placed a Gothic chapel, the bell tower, an old porch transformed into a chapel, the baptismal fonts and the present porch. The three apsidal windows are decorated with a black string course whose "Lombard" type is very pronounced. In places, the black basalt has been replaced by red brick. This sanctuary is vaulted in a cul-de-four. Above the door at the base of the nave, a cross in black basaltic stone would trace a Greek cross, incised with grooves refilled with mortar so as to depict a forked cross. There is probably reason to relate this design to the indication concerning the establishment at Pouzols of the Hospitallers of Saint-Jean de Jérusalem. The bell tower rises three storeys above ground floor, the third showing a different character from the first two, giving the general appearance of a 14th-century construction. Against the bell tower, a chapel was built in the 14th century. To the west of the bell tower, a chapel occupies the location of the old entrance porch.