Dax Cathedral

West facade

The Notre-Dame de Sainte-Marie in Dax is a Roman Catholic Church and since 1933, the cathedral of the Diocese of Aire and Dax . Before that, until the abolition of the Dax diocese in 1801, it was its cathedral. She wears a Marian patronage .

history

Presumably there was a small chapel here until the beginning of the 11th century. One of the oldest episcopal see in France was founded near Dax in the middle of the third century. The first bishop became Saint-Vincent-de-Xaintes, who died a martyr . When it was decided to move the bishopric to the interior of Dax, the chapel was demolished and replaced by a Romanesque cathedral. Not much is known about this church, even when it was demolished is unknown. Some parts of the church are now in the Borda Museum in Dax.

The second cathedral was built in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It collapsed between 1638 and 1646. Little is known about her either. The little that has been preserved, e.g. B. the gate of the apostles and the approximately 80 prayer chairs behind the main altar, at the altar of the Virgin Mary and in the northern ambulatory, suggests that it must have been a very beautiful church.

The planning of today's church began in 1647, but construction did not begin until 1694 due to lack of money. The church was consecrated in 1755, the facade and the two towers were not yet finished. With the abolition of the Diocese of Dax, the cathedral lost its function as an episcopal church. On March 31, 1933, the seat of the diocese Aire and Dax by Pope Pius XI. Relocated from Aire-sur-l'Adour to Dax with the Apostolic Constitution Ad rectum et utile . The old cathedral of Dax has since been the main church of the diocese again, the cathedral of Aire co- cathedral .

architecture

Column keystone with pilasters (1)

Angel heads as final sculptures of the pilasters (2)

Dome with ascension motif (3)

Pulpit (4)

Lady Chapel (5)

Main altar with prayer chairs (6)

The Apostle Gate (7)

Organ gallery (8)

Window and painting by Vinzenz von Paul in the ambulatory (9)

Side altar with painting of the Descent from the Cross (10)

General

Although the cathedral was built during the Baroque , it was built in the Renaissance style . As a result, the arches in wall openings and arcades are semicircular. The capitals of pillars and columns are based on the ancient Greek ( Doric , Ionic and Corinthian ). Other features of this architectural style are the achromatic high windows, so that more light could penetrate into the interior of the church. Colored windows came into the cathedral in the middle of the 19th century. The uncovered domes visible from below are also typical of the Renaissance.

Layout

The cathedral is shaped like a Latin cross , the transept divides the nave in a ratio of 1: 2. The church is 72 m long and 39 m wide at the transept.

Longitudinal aisles

If you stand at the entrance to the church in the north-west, you have an overview of the entire nave to the choir . The side aisles are separated from the 18.8 m high central nave by square pillars. The pilasters of the columns (Fig. 1) support the corridor's supporting ribs. The vaulted ceiling (except for the dome) and the frames on the supporting arches are unadorned. The pillars are load-bearing elements for the brick vaults, the keystones of which are decorated with sculptures (Fig. 2). The balconies of the galleries with their flat arched openings and high, wide openings are also supported by the pillars. The main and transepts each contain eight pillars, the choir at the end of the main nave contains nine, so a total of twenty-five.

The pilaster friezes are adorned with angel heads (Fig. 2) and correspond to the friezes above the galleries, which are decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testaments and with plants.

Main altar

The baroque main altar in the choir (Fig. 6) is the work of the Mazetti brothers from Ticino and dates from 1751.

Transepts

South side

The south transept contains a baroque altar in the Marienkapelle (picture 5) with a monumental frame from 1791, which also comes from the Mazetti brothers. The painting behind it shows the Assumption of Mary and is from 1765.

The Lady Chapel contains two other paintings of art historical importance: the Adoration of the Shepherds on the right. This painting has recently been assumed to be a copy of a no longer existing work by the German painter Hans von Aachen (1552–1615). The second painting of Jesus with two disciples is attributed to a Flemish master from the 17th century, a pupil of Gerrit van Honthorst . This painting is considered the most beautiful in the cathedral.

The grating in front of the communion room comes from the blacksmith Jean Saubot from Bayonne from 1766.

North side

The north transept impresses with the portal of the apostles (Fig. 7). It was the (western) main portal of the previous church and has remained in place despite the collapse of this church. It remained in place until the end of the 19th century, when the facade and the two towers began to be built, then it was dismantled and rebuilt inside the church. The gate shows stylistic elements of the northern French Gothic from the second half of the 13th century. It is therefore assumed that it came from a workshop in that area. The motif depicted in the tympanum (gable triangle) is the Last Judgment , as can also be found in the cathedrals of Paris , Chartres and Amiens . Only the statue of Jesus, the divine judge, is missing. You can see from top to bottom

two kneeling angels
two kneeling angels, holding the crescent moon and the sun in their hands
two standing angels; one wears a crown of thorns, a lance and a reed, the other three nails and a cross. They are framed by the kneeling Johannes and Maria. They lament the suffering of Christ.

Below is the heavily damaged representation of St. Michael (only the lower body is preserved), who cradles the souls. To his left a demon tries to push the scales towards him.

Above the lintel and further above the apostles one finds the representations of the resurrection of the dead, of paradise and hell, on the two sides of Christ are the elect and the damned.

The arches are full of statues of angels, women (the wise and foolish virgins) and the figures of the heavenly court (saints, bishops and Old Testament characters). A statue of Christ with a blessing right hand stands on a pillar, but it is no longer there. He is holding a book in his left hand. He is surrounded by the twelve apostles, some of which are easy to recognize: Peter with a key, Andrew with a piece of the cross, Paul , James with a bag full of shells, the emblem of the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela , John because of his youth the only beardless and Thomas with a square .

pulpit

The simple pulpit (Fig. 4) dates from the beginning of the 18th century. It is "carried" by an eagle with widely spread wings.

organ

If you look from the altar in the direction of the entrance, you will see the two-part organ gallery (Fig. 8) with the console in the middle. The mechanical parts are clad in rocaille style. The cladding is from 1786, it is the work of the woodcarver Caular from Dax. The sculptures are made of linden wood , the rest of oak .

The present organ was installed in 1786 and replaced an unknown older instrument. It was restored three times: at the end of the 19th century, in 1959 and 1987. The last restoration, which took 15,000 hours, was in the hands of organ builder M. Chauvin from Dax.

I Positif de Dos C – g ³
Bourdon	8th'
Montre	8th'
Prestant	4 ′
Flûte à cheminée	4 ′
Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
Duplicate	2 ′
Tierce	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
Larigot	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
Plein-Jeu VI
Trumpets	8th'
Shelves	8th'
Cromorne	8th'

II Grand Orgue C-g ³
Montre	16 ′
Montre	8th'
Principal	8th'
Prestant	4 ′
Duplicate	2 ′
Cornet V
Grande Fourniture II
Fittings III
Cymbals IV
Cymbale tierce III
Trumpets	16 ′ / 8 ′
Clairon	8 ′ / 4 ′
Clairon	4 ′ / 2 ′

III Résonance C-g ³
Bourdon	16 ′
Bourdon	8th'
Flute	8th'
Flute	4 ′
Grande tierce	3 ¹ ⁄ ₅  ′
Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
Quarte de Nazard	2 ′
Tierce	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
Bombard	16 ′
Trumpets	8th'
Clairon	4 ′

IV Récit expressif C – g ³
Principal	8th'
Flûte harm.	8th'
Cor de nuit	8th'
Dulciane	8th'
Voix céleste	8th'
Flûte octaviante	4 ′
Fifth	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
Octavine	2 ′
Sifflet	1'
Basson	16 ′
Trumpet harm.	8th'
Basson-hautbois	8th'
Voix humaine	8th'
Clairon	4 ′
Tremblant

Pedale C – f ¹
Flute	16 ′
Flute	8th'
Flute	4 ′
Bombard	16 ′
Trumpets	8th'
Clairon	4 ′

dome

The choir is spanned by a dome (Fig. 3) that was built between 1717 and 1718 and restored in 1992. The frieze with vegetable elements is partially gilded and is bordered at the top by a band of linear elements. In the niches above are the statues of the four evangelists Matthias (opposite the entrance), Johannes (opposite the main altar), Markus (opposite the Marien Altar) and Luke (opposite the apostle portal). You can also see the wall openings and twelve frieze-bearing pilasters. The ceiling is decorated with a painting of the Assumption by an artist from Bordeaux from the end of the 19th century. The dome has a pyramid roof on the outside, not an outer dome as is usual.

Choir room

The side bars in the choir were made in Dax in 1868. They are filigree masterpieces and show the initials of the Virgin Mary above the doors, the intertwined letters AM for Ave Maria, IHS , the initials of Christ and the initials of the main priest (HG), to whom these grids and the mosaic floor from 1871 are due .

Church window

The church windows represent the following:

Choir room

The coronation of the Virgin Mary in heaven
The Immaculate Conception
Notre-Dame of the Seven Sorrows

Lady Chapel

The Annunciation of the Lord , work by Oudinot from 1873
The Visitation , work by Dagrant from Bordeaux from 1900
Marriage of Mary to Joseph, by Oudinot
The Holy Family, work of Dagrant
Notre-Dame de Buglose , work by Oudinot in the rose window

South aisle

The Guardian Angel , ( Psalm 90:11)
The Annunciation, (Luke 1, 26-38)
The good shepherd with the lost lamb (Luke 15: 4-7)
St. Michael slaying the dragon (Apocalypse 12, 7-8)

Ambulatory

The Holy Family and the Death of Joseph (in the area of the Joseph Altar)
The Apparition of the Sacred Heart (Visions of Marguerite-Marie Alacoque in Paray-le-Monial in the 17th century)
Another window dedicated to the Heart of Jesus
Jesus and the children
The tamed storm
Saint Charles Borromeo
Saint-Vincent-de-Paul