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Origin and history

The Saint Vincent de Coarraze church, built in the first half of the sixteenth century, was completed in 1534. It has a nave of six spans flanked by two collaterals divided into chapels, as well as a square bell tower overlooking the southern collateral. Its architecture combines late Gothic elements, such as the arches in warhead of the entrance porch, decorated with busts symbolizing the four ages of life. The west gate, topped by an arch in a braid, incorporates sculptures of angels surrounding a niche, coming from the old southern bell tower.

In 1569, the church was burned down and partially destroyed by the Montgomery troops in the context of the religious wars. After the restoration of the Catholic cult in Béarn, restoration work took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1762 the bell tower was enhanced, but the building was decommissioned in 1793 during the Revolution. In the 19th century, a new restoration campaign was carried out by architect Émile Loupot between 1866 and 1869: the nave was nine metres long, the bays and part of the interior decor (voûts, pilasters, stand) were redone.

The church houses remarkable elements, such as the chapel of Sainte-Catherine, whose vault with liernes and thirdons represents the saint and his wheel. The stained glass windows of the abside, signed Émile Thibaut (Clermont-Ferrand), and those of the northern chapel, attributed to Gustave-Pierre Dagrand (Bordeaux), date from this period of restoration. The west gate and the bell tower, as well as the chapel of Sainte-Catherine, have been protected under the Historic Monuments since 1988.

The location of the building, in Coarraze in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, reflects its anchor in the religious and architectural history of Béarn. Its evolution, marked by destruction and reconstruction, illustrates the political and cultural upheavals of the region, from Renaissance to contemporary times.

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