Église Saint-Nicolas
40130 Capbreton
The church of Saint-Nicolas of Capbreton, erected in 1539-1540 in a growing parish, preserved from this period a powerful square bell tower, crowned with a turret that long served as a bitter for the ships returning to the port. The history of the building, almost completely rebuilt at the end of the Second Empire, is closely linked to the community of fishermen, which ensured the prosperity of the village for centuries, before the development of seaside tourism. Wall paintings (Jules and Gaston Gélibert, Claude Drouillard), stained glass windows (Gustave Dagrant) and sculptures (Clément d'Astanières) still bear witness today to the devotion of men of the sea to their patron saints, Nicolas de Myre and Catherine of Alexandria, as well as to the Virgin, Supreme protector against the dangers of navigation. Two colourful local figures, Abbés Jean-Baptiste and Élie Gabarra, successive parish priests, encouraged these cultu(r) practices until the 1930s.
©Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel, Jean-Philippe Maisonnave, 2023
