Le clocher Suédois

Stone building built around 1800, demolished by a cyclone and of which only the two-thirds stone bell tower remained, its dominant position which carried the stamp of its bell far away, the "Sofia Magdalena" bell named after a Swedish princess was cast in 1799 in Stockholm. She catches the eye. Accessible by a staircase leading to a door, it rests on volcanic stone walls, topped by wooden cladding painted in light green, embellished with claustras on three sides, it announced the events of the city, sounded the bell at the death of each inhabitant of Gustavia born during the Swedish period and at 20:00 sharp, the curfew, a Swedish habit in practice until the 1920s. Once covered with essentes and topped with a metal rooster symbolizing the expectation of the sun, greeted by its singing, its pointed roof is now covered with red metal sheets. On August 2, 1837, a cyclone ravaged the island, causing extensive damage. The church had to be razed to the ground, except for the bell tower, which was restored in 1931 and became a bell tower.

Photo: Fabienne MAGRAS