The threshold village

The village of Sercy is better known with us as the threshold village.

Château in Sercy

The first thing one sees when one enters the village is a speed reduction sign of 30 km/h, and that sign certainly is very useful. If you even dream of crossing the many speed ramps in the village at 32 km/h, afterwards you can drive straight away (if at all possible) to the nearest garage to have new shock absorbers fitted.
Reducing speed here has another advantage; from the through going road one has a stunning view of the Sercy castle. The castle is located next to the church, reason why I thought that reference to the castle chapel on le site sur l'Art Roman en Bourgogne was referring to this church. However, the first stone for this church was laid in 1846, so it simply could not be very Romanesque.

The castle chapel in Sercy

Eduard however knew, that next to the castle there stood another, Romanesque chapel. And even though the château is privately owned, the grounds around it are open to the public, the medieval kitchen of the castle at ground level can be visited, and the chapel is also accessible. Until the new church was built, the chapel acted as the local parish church.
Unfortunately the original arcade acting as bell tower has disappeared.
The interior of the chapel is very gaudy, and though I do not know from which period these decorations are, they do not seem Romanesque to me. From other churches with similar decorations, for which the year is given on the information panels, I would say that the interior was (re-)decorated in the 19th century.
However, I will happily accept a better opinion!

For more pictures of château and chapel, click here.

Practical information (courtesy of Eduard van Boxtel) :
Former chapel Saint-? (castle chapel) in Sercy, 12th century, 2*

For our own website, click here.

The castle chapel in Sercy - interior