Saint-Nicolas (Capbreton)

Parish Church of Saint-Nicolas

Main entrance

The Catholic parish church of Saint-Nicolas in Capbreton , a French parish in the Landes department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region , was built in the 19th century as a new building of the previous church. It has been registered as a Monument historique since October 16, 2000 .

history

View inside the church

The first church consecrated to Nikolaus von Myra was built in 1539 on the site of an earlier, simple church. At that time, a square watchtower was already part of it, which also served as a beacon for navigation. The bell tower was added a year later. During the Huguenot Wars , the church was set on fire in 1570 by Protestant troops. During the reign of terror in the French Revolution , the church served as a prison for Basques who had been abducted from their villages as alleged enemies of the revolution. In 1824 the tower was destroyed after a lightning strike, and it was rebuilt in a round shape in 1826. The whole church was rebuilt from 1865 to 1866 according to plans by the architect Ozanne except for the bell tower and the vestibule, and from 1875 to 1878 according to plans by the architect Allard. The wall paintings were created between 1889 and 1919 by Jules and Gaston Gélibert and Claude Drouillard. The single nave nave with false ribbed vaults is extended by a polygonal apse . The church has been inscribed as a Monument historique since October 16, 2000 .

Furnishing

Stained glass window

View of the choir

Seventeen stained glass windows are the work of the glass painter Gustave Pierre Dagrant from Bordeaux from 1866. They show biblical people or scenes and Christian symbols:

Window 0: Jesus calls his disciples , in the background a sailing boat
Window 1: The calling of the apostles Peter and Andrew
Window 2: Calling the Apostles James the Elder and John
Window 7: Nativity
Window 8: Mary at the foot of the cross
Window 9: Mystic pelican with Doctors of the Church of the Eastern Church and the Latin Church in Much pass the rose window : Gregory the Great , St. Jerome , Augustine of Hippo , Ambrose of Milan , St. Basil the Great , Gregory Nazianzen , John Chrysostom and Athanasius of Alexandria
Window 10: The dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit with saints in the rose window polychrome: Notre-Dame de Buglose, Nicholas of Myra, John the Baptist , Mary Magdalene , Vincent of Xaintes, Vincent of Paul , Vincent of Valencia and St. Quiteria
Window 11: Heart of Jesus and Nicholas of Myra
Window 12: Annunciation of the Lord
Window 13: Martin of Tours and Peter
Window 14: Birgitta of Sweden and John the Baptist
Window 15: Eugenia of Rome and Archangel Michael
Window 16: Alfonso Maria de Liguori and Bernhard von Clairvaux

Windows 3 to 6 are purely decorative. Windows 0 to 8 have a single lancet, windows 9 and 10 are designed as rose windows and windows 11 to 16 as double lancets with a personality in a central medallion on a blue or red background. Windows 0 to 3 form a narrative unit. Window 7 was restored around 1985–1987 by the master glass painter Charles Carrère from Anglet by freshening up faces and hands.

Jesus calls his disciples
Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew
Calling the Apostles James and John
Birth of Christ
Mary at the foot of the cross
Pelican with doctors
Dove with saints
Sacred Heart of Jesus and Nicholas of Myra
Annunciation of the Lord
Martin of Tours and Peter
Birgitta of Sweden and John the Baptist
Eugenia of Rome and Archangel Michael
Alfonso Maria de Liguori and Bernhard von Clairvaux

Bell jar

Bell from 1483

A bell comes from the former chapel of the Knights Templar and was transferred to the parish church. It is made of bronze and dates from 1483. It is dedicated to Maria Magdalena, as the inscription "L AN M CCCCLXXX III M MAGDALENA ORA PRO NOBIS" underscores. The motif of Ecce homo is depicted on the bell, with a bound Jesus, standing upright, with a bare torso and probably a crown of thorns . The scenes are completed with a contrasting representation of Mary with baby Jesus . Mary holds her son on her left arm, who is holding the globe with a halo . An angel holds a crown above Mary's head . A second bell is more recent. It was probably re-cast in bronze by the Perret foundry in Auch in 1852 . The bell is dedicated to the patron saint of the church, St. Nicholas, as evidenced by the inscription "Sit nomen Domini benedictum - Sancte Nicolae ora pro nobis". Its iconography consists of the crucified Christ , a Mary with baby Jesus and a depiction of St. Nicholas with a frieze of acanthus leaves .

Murals

The extraordinary elements of the interior decoration undoubtedly include the wall paintings by various artists.

Jules Bertrand Gélibert (1834–1916):

The sea after the storm

The virgin ruling over the sea

The angry sea

La mer calmée après la tempête ( German The calm sea after the storm ) and La mer en furie ( German The angry sea ). The two wall paintings were created in 1889 and are located in an arched wooden frame in the choir . After the storm, debris and a skull lay on the beach. In the storm, a mother and her son stand on the beach next to a cross and pray for the return of the sailors in their distress. The paintings measure approximately 4.20 m in height and 3.50 m in width. They are completed by a work by the painter Francis Renaud, who in 1969 fills the gap between the two paintings that resulted from the relocation of the previous main altar . It bears the title La Vierge dominant la mer ( German The virgin ruling over the sea ). The materials and color nuances correspond perfectly to the two pictures made 80 years earlier. Gélibert's paintings are on the list of national treasures.


The conversion of St. Hubert		Nicholas saves a ship from sinking

La Conversion de saint Hubert ( German The conversion of St. Hubertus ). The oil painting is in the nave on the right-hand side and was made in 1891 on the order of Pastor Gabarra. It shows the scene in which, according to legend, St. Hubertus was converted. The hunting party with St. Hubertus, a picor , two horses and a pack of dogs pause in front of a deer with a cross shining between its antlers. The two large trees in the middle and the darkness of the sky underline the drama of the scene. The painting, which is approximately 6.5 m high and 5 m wide, has been classified as a Monument historique since September 4, 1996 .

Saint Nicolas sauvant un navire du naufrage ( German Saint Nicholas saves a ship from sinking ). The mural was also created in 1892 on the order of Pastor Gabarra and entered on the list of national cultural assets. The saint is depicted in this picture as an elderly man, dressed in white and wearing a halo.

The miraculous catch

John the Baptist in the desert

Mary Magdalene in the desert

La pêche miraculeuse ( German The miraculous catch ). The mural is in the right transept and was also created in 1893 on the order of Pastor Gabarra and entered in the list of national cultural assets.

Sainte Madeleine au désert ( German Saint Mary Magdalene in the desert ) and Saint Jean-Baptiste au désert ( German Saint John the Baptist in the desert ). The two wall paintings are in the choir and are neither signed nor dated, but they were also made in 1893 on the order of Pastor Gabarra and entered in the list of national cultural assets.


Christ on the cross		Jesus walks on the water

Claude Drouillard:

Christ en croix ( German Christ on the cross ) and Jésus marchant sur les eaux ( German Jesus walks on the water ). The two wall paintings are in the nave on the right-hand side and were also made on the order of Pastor Gabarra in 1895 after Jules Bertrand Gélibert had introduced his painter colleagues to the pastor. They are on the list of national cultural assets.


Scenes from the life of St. Nicholas

Two scenes from the life of St. Nicholas. The first shows the saint saving the residents of Myra from starvation by docking a ship laden with wheat. Saint Nicholas is shown here as a bishop with his miter . The second shows the saint as a young man who secretly tosses gold pieces through a window so that three young but impoverished women can get married. The pictures measure approx. 4 m in height and 5 m in width. They were created in 1895 and entered on the list of national cultural assets.

Gaston Gélibert (1850–1931):


Escape to Egypt		The shipwreck

Fuite en Egypte ( German flight to Egypt ). The approximately 10 m high mural is located in the rear part of the nave above the entrance and was created in 1895. It shows the flight into Egypt in a night scene . The painting is on the list of national cultural assets.

La Naufrage ( German The Shipwreck ). The mural measures 4 m in height and 5 m in width and is located in the nave on the left. Gaston Gélibert created it in 1898 with a dedication that is unfortunately partially illegible today. It represents the life and fears of the Capbreton sailors, some of whom were models for the painting. In a storm, a fisherman and a sailor from the Navy, recognizable by the red pompom on his cap, are depicted in dire straits. The painting is also on the list of national cultural assets.

Descent from the Cross

Descente de croix ( German Descent from the Cross ) and Mise au tombeau ( German Entombment of Christ ). The two wall paintings were created in 1919 and entered on the list of national cultural assets. The painful Mary is supported at the foot of the now empty cross by two women, while Christ is buried by two men under the supervision of Roman soldiers. The city of Jerusalem is shown in the background .

Martyrdom of Saint Catherine

St. Catherine quarrel with the scholars from Alexandria

Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

Sebastian encourages his Christian friends

Martyre de sainte Catherine ( German martyr's death of St. Catherine ) and Martyre de saint Sébastien ( German martyr's death of St. Sebastian ). The two wall paintings are in the northern transept. They were also created in 1919 and entered on the list of national cultural assets. Below the pictures are the wall paintings La controverse de sainte Catherine avec les docteurs d'Alexandrie ( German The dispute between Saint Catherine and the scholars from Alexandria ) on the left and Saint Sébastien exhorte ses amis chrétiens ( German Saint Sebastian encourages his Christian friends ) on the right .

Memorial plaques

Panels made of terracotta or wood cover the lower part of the walls of the nave. These are not votive tablets , but a list of the 1062 Capbretonnais who were buried in the church between 1533 and 1752. Commissioned by pastor Jean-Baptiste Gabarra, the sculptor Clément d'Astanières created 178 terracotta panels and the Danish engineer Svend Steenstrup 65 wooden panels at the beginning of the 20th century. The community archive was used as the source. The bones are still under the ground today as the church was built on the foundations of the church from 1539. In the vestibule there are marble panels bearing the names of Capbretonnais who perished in the sea, e.g. B. Were victims of a shipwreck, sea battle, or fell into the hands of pirates.

Wikimedia Commons: Photos of the plaques


15th century crucifix		18th century crucifix


Omnipotentia Supplex		Saint Peter statue

Other items of equipment

All of the following items of equipment are registered as national cultural assets.

Christ en croix sculpture . The crucifix originally comes from the destroyed church in the Bouret district. The body measures 1.60 m in height, the cross about 3 m. Based on the expression of the anatomy , which suggests the late Gothic, it was probably not created before the 15th century. The arms, perhaps the head too, may have been replaced over the centuries. The sculpture has been classified as a Monument historique since November 5, 1912 .

Christ en croix sculpture . The church houses a second crucifix of small size and of more recent date. Tradition has it that it dates back to the 13th or 14th century. But the very idealized head and limbs rather suggest the 18th century as the date of origin. In 1931 it was restored by the sculptor Lavaria.

Statue Omnipotentia Supplex . The statue of the Virgin Mary is a work by Clément d'Astanières from 1893. The "Almighty supplicating" statue of Mary, which stands up for the souls of fishermen, is approx. 86 cm tall and made of white marble.

Saint Peter statue. The statue is the work of the sculptor Dolhéguy from 1827 and is made of stained and waxed wood. M. de Junca restored it in 1932.

Narthex

Pietà

The colored statue dates from the 15th century and is one of the four older Pietàs in the department. It was donated by sailors from Capbreton, who in 1492 founded their brotherhood “Notre-Dame de Pitié”. Before the French Revolution it stood above the tabernacle of the main altar, during the Revolution it was hidden. During the rebuilding of the church in the 19th century, it was kept in the rectory . On November 21, 1875, seamen carried them in procession from the church to the beach, where they were placed in a niche on the lifeboat shed, as a sign of protection for the seafarers. 50 years later, the expansion of the beach facilities required the demolition of the shed. When it was removed from the niche, it became apparent that the statue had suffered from the effects of the weather. The sculptor Raymond de Broutelles from Paris restored it, especially the lower, most damaged parts. The two dowels that fixed the body of Christ to the body of Mary were exchanged, so that his position on his mother's knees is now changed. Jules Bertrand Gélibert took over the work on the colored version. Since then, the Pietà has found its place in the vestibule on a stele. In 1992, however, it had to leave Capbreton temporarily for another restoration. On April 13, 1995, the Thursday before Easter, it was put back in the niche of a small door called the "Door of the Cagots" in a showcase with a system of security, ventilation and humidity regulation. The Pietà has been classified as a Monument historique since January 25, 1913 .

Terracotta reliefs

They are the work of the ceramist and manufacturer of faience Jules-Alphonse Loebnitz from Paris, who worked with his father Jules Paul Loebnitz (1836–1895) from 1880 onwards. The reliefs date from the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 18th century and are originally six replicas of eight works by the sculptor Clément d'Astanières, who made them for the Baby Jesus Chapel in Paris. The reliefs in this church are a gift from the widow of Clément d'Astanières to the pastor Gabarra after his death. They consist of two sets of three panels each with depictions of saints. The middle panel is wider and shows two personalities.

These are: