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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Caubin's command office, located in Arthez-de-Béarn in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was founded in 1154 as a hospital for the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem. It became a prosperous commandery, but was marked by violence during the wars of religion: in 1569 Montgomery executed the prior and seven brothers for their fidelity to the Pope. Expropriated and returned in 1592, it was definitely lost to the Revolution. The chapel, now classified as a historical monument, preserves medieval architectural elements such as a semi-circular bedside and a 14th-century layer.

The chapel, restored in the 17th century in a Provencal style after the wars of religion, presents a white stone apparatus of Castillon, except to the south where sandstone was used. Its bell tower, modified three hundred years ago, replaces primitive arcades. Inside, a girder of knight Arnaud Guilhem d'Andoins (died 1301), dressed in a cot of meshes and the feet laid on a lion, bears witness to its historical importance. The ceramic tiles, partially original, and a carved broken arch door complete this set.

Opposite the chapel, a pebbly oratory was erected in 1951 by artisan Joseph Palengat, at the request of Abbé Discomps. This monument commemorates the safe return of 37 prisoners of war from the village after 1939-1945. Inaugurated on August 15, 1951, it symbolizes gratitude to the Blessed Virgin and gathers the inhabitants during processions. The chapel, in ruins in the 20th century, was restored from 1966 by the association Les Amis de Caubin, which now organizes cultural activities.

Ranked a historic monument since 2 September 1913, Caubin's chapel illustrates the legacy of the Hospitallers in the Béarn. Its architecture combines local influences (stones, initial pentue roof) and Provençal influences (flat roof, post-war restoration of religion). The site, owned by the municipality, remains a place of memory and heritage, where are side by side medieval remains and modern devotion.

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