Sant Serni de Vilamantells, church building in Guixers, Spain
Sant Serni de Vilamantells is a small Romanesque church dating to the 11th or 12th century located in a quiet village. The building has a rectangular layout with a nave, a semicircular apse at the eastern end, and a barrel vault roof supported by thick stone walls and six small arches.
The first recorded mention dates to 1064, when Count Ermengol III gave the church to a monastery. The building changed ownership multiple times and was transferred in 1088 and again in 1203 to different religious communities, reflecting common medieval practices in church transfers.
The church is named after Saint Serni and has served as a gathering place for the local community for centuries. Its simple layout and plain interior details show how practically and directly people of that time built their places of worship.
The building is reached by a narrow road that turns into a trail taking about half a mile to walk. The local priest holds the key and still conducts services in this quiet, out-of-the-way location.
During excavations near the church, a medieval jawbone was discovered and is now kept at the local museum. This shows that people have used and buried their dead at this site since the 11th or early 12th century.
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