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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Bastide, located in Bordeaux, replaces a first church built in 1834 to meet the needs of an expanding population. This modest initial project was quickly insufficient to cope with the population growth of the Bastide district, which was then in full industrial and urban development. The present building thus embodies an architectural and social response to the transformation of Bordeaux in the 19th century.

Between 1863 and 1884, architect Paul Abadie, known for his religious achievements as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre, designed a church with an elongated plan, typical of his style. The bell tower, whose first floor opens on the nave, is surmounted by an arrow and a lantern. The construction was paced by unprecedented technical precautions: the instability of the Bordeaux soil imposed a spacing of the construction phases to allow the gradual settlement of the foundations, thus avoiding structural disorders.

The decorative elements, deliberately sober, have been largely preserved since the beginning. The stained glass windows, commissioned in 1883 by master glassmaker Edward Didron, constitute a major artistic testimony of the time. Their style and iconography reflect the aesthetic and religious currents of the last quarter of the 19th century. The church, fully protected by a decree of 2016, illustrates both the technical ingenuity of its architect and the urban evolution of Bordeaux.

The church of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Bastide is classified as a historical monument and now belongs to the commune of Bordeaux. Its official address, 62 Thiers Avenue, and its location in a changing neighbourhood highlight its heritage and memorial role. However, the accuracy of its location remains poor (level 5/10), perhaps reflecting the successive transformations of the surrounding urban fabric.

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