Andorra to Remove Unauthorized Wooden Floor from Sant Serni Chapel Before UNESCO Visit

The Andorran Culture Ministry will soon remove the wooden flooring installed without approval in the nave and porch of the Sant Serni chapel in Nagol, addressing a long-standing heritage issue ahead of a UNESCO inspection.

Technicians from the Heritage department visited the site last week to assess the timber floor, laid in 2017 by the Sant Julià de Lòria parish without prior study or permission from authorities. Despite the ministry contributing €7,000 to the project, it drew immediate criticism from restorer Eudald Guillamet, who called it an aesthetic mismatch with the chapel's 11th-century Romanesque frescoes—the oldest surviving examples in Andorra, which he rediscovered in 1976 and restored in 2011. The parish had justified the change as a way to improve access for worshippers and visitors.

The removal is set to begin as soon as weather allows, likely by spring at the latest, to resolve the issue before UNESCO evaluators visit in July. The chapel forms part of Andorra's candidacy for World Heritage status, focused on "The Construction of the Pyrenean State," alongside nine other sites including Sant Miquel d'Engolasters, Sant Martí de la Cortinada, Sant Joan de Caselles, Sant Romà de les Bons, Sant Climent de Pal, Santa Coloma, the Roureda de la Margineda, Sant Vicenç d'Enclar, and Casa de la Vall. A final decision will come at the World Heritage Committee's 49th session in July 2027.

Once removed, the underlying state will determine next steps. Options include restoring the original slate-tile and lime-mortar pavement from before 2017, or installing a less intrusive alternative. A glass floor overlay, used at Sant Serni de Canillo, has been ruled out. The porch's wooden floor, seen as a fire hazard, will also go.

The intervention will balance liturgical use with preservation. Mass is not held regularly at the chapel, only for events like baptisms and weddings. Planners will add an accessible path from the parking area, overlooked in 2017. Similar urgent work is pending at the two other UNESCO candidate chapels in Andorra.