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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre de Nerbis, located in the Landes department, finds its origins at the end of the 10th century. In 982, Count Guillaume Sanche de Gascogne donated it to the Abbey of Saint-Sever at the time of its foundation, according to a charter confirmed in 1012. This connection to Saint-Sever lasted almost eight centuries, until the French Revolution. The church, initially monastic, became parishioner after this period. Its history is marked by partial destructions, especially in 1435 during the Hundred Years' War, where French troops destroyed part of the building and burned the monastery, then reduced to a priory dependent on Saint-Sever.

In the 16th century, the wars of Religion hit the region hard: in 1569, the Huguenot troops of Montgomery looted and burned the bell tower and the priory, melting the bells and stealing the treasure. After these events, the church was partially rebuilt around 1660, as evidenced by the inscription "B. Dufegna Margille 1664" on the portal. The French Revolution barely saved the building in 1793, thanks to the intervention of Pierre-Arnaud Dartigoeyte, head of the local committee of Mugron. However, the ancillary goods are seized and sold.

The church's architecture blends Romanesque elements (three apse chevet, adorned capitals) with late Gothic additions, such as the 16th century liernes and thirdron vaults. The bell tower, initially fortified in the 14th century, lost its upper part during the fire of 1569. Ranked a historical monument in 2003 with its enclosure, the church preserves traces of its defensive past, such as openings for watchtowers in the north wall, as well as remains related to marginalized populations (cagots), such as a walled door and a benigner reserved for them.

The restoration works followed in the 19th and 20th centuries: in 1842-1843, then between 1953 and 1984, under the impulse of the commune, owner of the building since the Revolution. The bell tower even served as a geodetic signal in 1846 for the establishment of the Staff Map. The 35 arch keys, some dated 1547, and the capitals inspired by the abbey of Saint-Sever bear witness to the know-how of medieval builders, linked to other major construction sites such as Bordeaux Cathedral.

The Saint Peter church thus illustrates more than a thousand years of religious, political and social history in Chalosse, between Comtal donations, armed conflicts, and architectural adaptations. Its enclosure, its cemetery with an area reserved for clots, and its defensive elements recall its central role in community life, between worship, protection and exclusion.

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