La tour du Procureur

The Campanile is located in the heart of the hamlet of Brunissard, near the fountain and the chapel. Its belltower looms over the communal oven and is 11 metres high. It is a small bell tower perched at the top of a tower of larch logs, straddling the roof of the oven. The Prosecutor's Tower dates back to 1884, when it was rebuilt after the fire that devastated Brunissard on 19 August 1882. It was renovated in 1998 and completely replaced on 22 November 2017: now it should last another 150 years! Note that there is also a bell tower at La Chalp d'Arvieux.

Its local nickname is the ""Prosecutor's Tower"", in reference to the Prosecutor’s traditionally important role in the village: historically, several administrators were chosen by the institutions, for a term of several years, ruling the village with the power to hand down punishments. At the end of the 19th century, he would be an elected official chosen by the local assembly of family heads for a one-year term. He was responsible for deciding on family contributions, particularly for boon work (canal maintenance, pathway maintenance, the start of the mountain pasture harvest season or the cereal harvest, departure for summer pastures, the start of haymaking, etc.), and was therefore the manager of the village.

Brunissard's Campanile Tower was used to alert residents to danger (e.g. fire), but also to summon families for the start of boon work or important events (bread-baking day, upkeep of communal property, preparation for a festival, etc.), or to announce good or bad news. It is located halfway between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Temple. In the floods of 1957 it was used to sound the alarm.

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