Dax Cathedral () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in the town of

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

in the Landes département of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The

diocese of Dax The Diocese of Dax, Landes, Dax or Acqs was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Gascony in south-west France. According to tradition it was established in the 5th century. It was suppressed after the French Revolution, by the Concordat ...

was not restored after the French Revolution but with several others, including

Aire Aire may refer to: Music *''Aire'', a song on the album Chicago VII by the group Chicago (band), 1974 * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places * Aire-sur-la-Ly ...

, was added to the

Diocese of Bayonne The Diocese of Bayonne, Lescar, and Oloron, commonly Diocese of Bayonne, (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baionensis, Lascurrensis et Oloronensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayonne, Lescar et Oloron''; Basque: ''Baionako, Leskarreko eta Oloroeko elizbarrutia'') ...

by the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...

. In 1817 the former dioceses of Dax and of Aire were again separated from that of Bayonne and joined to form the new

Diocese of Aire and Dax The Diocese of Aire and Dax (Latin'':'' ''Dioecesis Adurensis et Aquae Augustae''; French: ''Diocèse d'Aire et Dax'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It comprises the ''département'' o ...

, of which the bishop's seat was at

Aire Cathedral Aire Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church (building), church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in the town of Aire-sur-l'Adour in the Landes (department), Landes département of France. It was the seat of the Bishops of Aire until the dioc ...

. In 1833 the bishop's seat was officially transferred to Dax and to Dax Cathedral. Aire Cathedral remains as a

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

. Dax Cathedral is a national monument of France. Ancienne Cathédrale Sainte-Marie (église Notre-Dame)

History

In the late 13th century, when the town of Dax was at the height of its prosperity, the bishops had a number of ecclesiastical buildings constructed, among which was a new cathedral on the site of an ancient Romanesque sanctuary which had become too cramped. This

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

structure collapsed in 1646; all that remains of it is the magnificent Portal of the Apostles in the north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

: 12 metres high and 8 metres wide, this doorway contains a quantity of beautiful sculptures, fairly rare in the south of France, despite some mutilations and damage incurred during the passage of time.

Building

Apart from the portal, which was classed as a national monument of France in its own right in 1884, the present cathedral was built from 1694 onwards in a plain style of classical inspiration. The main façade and south elevation have a massive, almost austere, appearance. The north elevation however, which looks onto a small square in the historical centre of the town, does not lack charm, despite a certain rigidity. The

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

over the crossing is decorated with murals. The quire houses the old stalls (16th century) of the canons, saved from the former cathedral. The mid-18th century

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and the altar of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

are of polychromatic marble and are the work of the Mazzetti brothers, originally from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

but resident in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. The

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

loft, of the late 17th century, was the work of Caular, a local ebonist. After its recent restoration this organ loft is considered one of the most beautiful in France. The building also contains a number of paintings, among them "Jesus and His Disciples" by

Gerrit van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname ''Gherardo delle Notti' ...

(17th century), and the "Adoration of the Shepherds" by

Hans von Aachen Hans von Aachen (1552 – 4 March 1615) was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism. Hans von Aachen was a versatile and productive artist who worked in many genres. He was successful as a painter of p ...

(late 16th century).

References

External links

*
History of the diocese and the cathedral
*
Location
{{Authority control Churches in Landes (department) Monuments historiques of Landes (department) Roman Catholic cathedrals in France