Serquigny (Eure). Not much remains of the roof and floor of the Château de Serquigny, completely destroyed by a fire which broke out around 6:30 a.m. on December 31, on the first floor of the north wing before spreading rapidly. in the attic. Fortunately no casualties have been reported. Firefighters quickly got to the scene but operations were slowed down by the difficult crossing of a small bridge over the moat. The images provided by the firefighters are impressive and we wonder how the castle will be able to be restored given the damage and the possible risks of collapse.
The castle built in the 17th century on the foundations of an older building dating from the 11th century is a large building on three levels, made of bricks and stones, typical of this period. It was registered as a historic monument in 1951. A private residence until 1870, it served as a military hospital during the Franco-Prussian War, then it was occupied by an association helping disabled people. It was bought in the 2000s by a real estate developer who sold it in batches to around forty individuals with the promise of restoring it. But the entrepreneur is placed in liquidation and the castle is abandoned, paralyzed by its complex legal situation.
An investigation was opened to find out the causes of the fire. The Eure prefecture wanted to react very quickly on X (formerly Twitter) against information from the local press indicating that the castle was squatted. If the State representative recognized that the castle was dormant and sometimes visited, he refuted a regular illegal occupation.
