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Tour de Sermur
Historic site and monument, Tower, Registered monuments and sites
in Sermur
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This watchtower is part of a defense and surveillance system linked to the history of the Marche region. Around 1740, the tower served as an observatory for the astronomer César-François Cassini. In 1797, another astronomer, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre, used it as a benchmark to measure the Dunkirk-Barcelona meridian arc on which the metric system was based. All that remains today are the ruins of this tower, the only vestige of a feudal fortress destroyed at the start of the Hundred...
This watchtower is part of a defense and surveillance system linked to the history of the Marche region. Around 1740, the tower served as an observatory for the astronomer César-François Cassini. In 1797, another astronomer, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre, used it as a benchmark to measure the Dunkirk-Barcelona meridian arc on which the metric system was based. All that remains today are the ruins of this tower, the only vestige of a feudal fortress destroyed at the start of the Hundred Years' War. The plan is roughly square, with rectangular rubble stones. The tower rests on a pedestal or bahut, connected to the monument by a bevel. The walls are 1.50 m thick at the base. The area around the Sermur tower offers vast panoramic views, mainly to the east, towards the Puy de Dôme, and to the south, towards the La Courtine plateau.
