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Origin and history

The tower of torment of Auriac is a building located in the hamlet of Auriac, on the commune of Saint-Julien-du-Tournel, in Lozère. Built in the 19th century, more precisely around 1856 as indicated by the sommital stone, it is typical of the steeples of torment of the fringes of Mount Lozère. These buildings were originally used for the angel, the glass, the call to the communal school, the prevention of hailstorms, and as a sound signal for people lost in the fog. Today, their use is mainly limited to ice and fire alarms.

The building, of truncated pyramidal shape, is built in schist and granite bellows. A stone slab with a chronogram crowns the structure, surmounted by a decorated cast iron bell, produced by the Feyet fondeur of Mende. The bell rests on a stone yoke and is supported by a ironwork frame. These bell towers, often without a nearby church, were gathering and signalling points for isolated hamlets. Some had a bellbox or a niche housing a religious statue, and all were surmounted by an iron or stone cross.

The bell tower of Auriac, built in the third quarter of the 19th century, was inscribed in historical monuments by order of 17 July 1992. It belongs to the commune of Saint-Julien-du-Tournel and is distinguished by its simple but functional architecture, adapted to the needs of the rural populations of the region. These works reflect the ingenuity of local communities to overcome the geographical isolation and difficult climatic conditions of Mount Lozère.

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