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Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Aire

Aire-sur-l'Adour

Dimensions
In the lower town of Aire-sur-l'Adour, within walking distance of the tourist office; the former bishop's palace is now the town hall; 48 m long, 8 m wide for the nave and 15 m high
Period
Bishopric founded in the 6th century, first known bishop Marcellus in 506; cathedral built from the end of the 11th century (late 12th century according to Wikipedia); nave shortened and rib-vaulted in the 14th century, 14th-century chapter house; vaults rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries; choir panelling under Bishop Fromentières (1673–1684); rotunda chevet in the 18th century, organ of 1757–1759, high altar c. 1770; diocese suppressed in 1801–1802, re-established in 1822, united with that of Dax in 1857; co-cathedral since the transfer of the see to Dax in 1933; listed historic monument (classé) by order of 9 August 1906
What stands there
On the Via Podiensis, the cathedral of a bishopric attested as early as 506, with its Gothic chapter house on central pillars

The first Bishop of Aire whose name is known, Marcellus, appears in 506: the diocese, created in the 6th century, has nearly fifteen centuries of history. Its cathedral, begun at the end of the 11th century according to the town's brochure, at the end of the 12th according to Wikipedia, in the lower town, is made of successive layers rather than in a single campaign. The Romanesque nave, originally longer, was shortened at the beginning of the 14th century and covered with rib vaults; from the same century dates the sacristy, a former chapter house whose Gothic vaults spring from central pillars, of Toulouse workmanship. When vaults collapsed, in the 16th and 17th centuries, they were restored; in the 18th the apse was demolished to make way for the present rotunda chevet, and the facade was reworked. The bishops furnished it: Jean-Louis de Fromentières (1673–1684) had the choir panelling installed, the marble communion rail dates from 1684, and around 1770 the Mazzetti brothers delivered the high altar in polychrome marble. Between October 1757 and September 1759 the gallery organ was built by journeymen of Dom Bédos de Celles according to Wikipedia, by Dom Bédos or his pupil Labruguière according to the town's brochure. The 19th century added the aisles, stained-glass windows from the Parisian Didron workshop and wall paintings. Suppressed in 1801 and attached to Bayonne, the diocese was re-established in 1822 and united with that of Dax in 1857. Pilgrims on the Via Podiensis, which runs from Le Puy-en-Velay to Santiago de Compostela by the Roncesvalles pass, stop here, and the former bishops' palace now houses the town hall.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Aire ↗

Further reading

Getting there : In the town centre, on foot from the Aire-sur-l'Adour tourist office (exact address and times to be checked). Guided tours in French possible according to the Landes departmental tourist board; animals not admitted. Admission and prices of tours to be checked.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Aire
AirScott · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Landes (27).