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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Arjuzanx, located in the commune of Morcenx-la-Nouvelle (département des Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region), is a religious building dating back to the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. It precedes the fortification of Arjuzanx, then royal city, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its architecture combines a Romanesque bedside with a fortified bell tower-porch added in the 15th and 16th centuries, reflecting the defensive and stylistic evolutions of the time. Outside, a monolithic cross of the late 16th century and a Christ on the cross of the 17th century, formerly associated with popular healing beliefs, testify to its spiritual and cultural anchor.

The present structure of the church is the result of several construction and modification campaigns. The unique vessel, extended by a semicircular apse choir, is flanked by two lateral chapels added in the 19th century between the foothills. The nave, initially un vaulted, was covered with brick arch vaults in 1857-1858 by diocesan architect Jules Sibien, who also redesigned the windows and consolidated the whole. The walls, built of garluche bellows and brick, are reinforced by stone foothills, illustrating the mixed techniques used throughout the centuries.

In 1958, the fortuitous discovery of a coffin walled in the north wall revealed a skeleton carrying silver spurs to the heels, now kept at Borda's company in Dax. This archaeological element underscores the historic importance of the site, possibly linked to a high status character. Ranked a historic monument in 2002, the church embodies both a remarkable architectural heritage and a place of memory for the local community, marked by religious beliefs and practices rooted in time.

The building thus combines defensive elements (clocher-porch fortified) with liturgical features, such as the Gothic portal with broken arch opening onto the nave. Its semicircular apse, covered with a cul-de-four, and the vaulted choir span of warheads, contrast with the initial simplicity of the nave. These stylistic superpositions, from Romanesque to Gothic and then modern additions, are a valuable testimony to the evolution of religious architecture in Aquitaine (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine).

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