Saint-Jean-de-Luz
4 March 2007
Autoroute A-64 deposited us in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and provided our first views of the Atlantic since leaving Brittany (Dieppe and St.-Valary-en-Caux –see earlier posts) in early December 2006. Saint-Jean is just a bit of the north of the Spanish border and is one of the hub of the Pays Basques.
The Basques are a unique and separate people with a language that is reportedly distinct from any other language on earth. In Spain their efforts at separatism have often generated violence by both sides in the dispute. In the Basque region of France there are bilingual schools (French and Basque), bilingual signage and pride (formal and official as well as personal) in the Basque heritage. Consequently, physical confrontation seems to be much less of an issue.
Facilities for motor homes in Saint-Jean and its neighbouring Cibourne, during the winter, are, to put a nice touch on it, limited. The one quiet place we found was behind “Entrée Interdite” (Keep Out) signs and a lifted barrier in a shipyard. Concerns about finding the barrier closed and locked, and its relative isolation in an industrial area moved us on from this quite nice harbour-front location. The one “official” site consists of 5 designated spaces at the train station in Saint-Jean, literally backing onto the platform, with a loudspeaker at our back window announcing all the arrivals and departures. While electric engines are much quieter than diesels, any train does sound noisy when it is 15 feet away especially in the middle of the night. By 11 P.M. the traffic on the road 20 feet in front of us had virtually disappeared so our sleep was only slightly disrupted. Across the road the fishing fleet harbour presented colourful sites and a few malodorous whiffs.
The history of Saint-Jean-de-Luz prior to the 12th century is not well documented and little is known of it. The silting of the Ardour River and the consequent collapse of the port of Bayonne (near Biarritz about 10 km. north of St.-Jean) created a potential for the ocean-front site at the mouth of the Nivelle River. In 1420 the people of the failing town of Bayonne were prohibited from settling on the banks of the Nivelle, although several small shipyards had already been established here. The control of the Baron of this region was ceded to the Chapter of Canons around 1450 and then purchased by the people of Saint-Jean in 1570. Being close to the Spanish frontier and in a contested area, as well as on the Compostela pilgrimage route, many kings and queens passed through the area:
the Black Prince, Louis XI (1461), François I (1526), and Charles IX (1565). But the most famous was the Sun King – Louis XIV who came here for his politically motivated marriage to Maria-Teresa of Austria, the Infanta (Princess) of Spain on 9 June 1660.
She stayed in this harbour-front Italianate “palace”
while the Sun King spread his brilliance in this more mundane home of a rich ship owner. The house has been in the ownership of the same family for over 350 years.
Saint-Jean was both blessed and threatened by the Atlantic Ocean. It provided food and the port was also an industrial port. But the ocean also provided access by raiders from various countries, although later it created much of the wealth of the town through the exploits of its own corsairs (officially sanctioned pirates - privateers) who raided as far afield as the coast of Venezuela, and became a thorn in the paw of the British Lion. Their raiding of heavily laden rich S
panish ships in the South Atlantic provided significant revenues to the town and its inhabitants. The ocean also created frequent and major flooding resulting in the construction of a series of unsuccessful breakwaters. This was finally resolved in the 19th century with the construction of the current ones.
The Compostela pilgrimage route gave rise to nefarious practices at various stopping points. For some reason Saint-Jean-de-Luz gained unfortunate notoriety in 1609 when many of its womenfolk were accused of witchcraft. The town’s fisherman were forced to return from their cod fishing ventures in Newfoundland (the Canadian Connection) to save 600 women from being burnt at the stake.
The Ēglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste, is first mentioned in 1186 but frequent Spanish invasions resulted in its destruction and subsequent reconstruction. Today the oldest remaining parts date from the 14th and 15th centuries.
I
n the 17th century the successful exploitation of whaling in the Atlantic and cod-fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland brought prosperity and the town grew to 12,000 inhabitants. This permitted an expansion of the church beginning in 1649 and it was in this “under construction” church that Louis XIV and Maria-Teresa were married in 1660. Today the Choir of the church is a beautiful series of gold-leafed statuettes.
Once a popular sea bathing resort and then a fashionable up-market resort until 1936, Saint-Jean has in many ways been eclipsed by nearby Biarritz. The town’s economy today is based on a declining fishing industry, tourism and cultural tourism.
Autoroute A-64 deposited us in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and provided our first views of the Atlantic since leaving Brittany (Dieppe and St.-Valary-en-Caux –see earlier posts) in early December 2006. Saint-Jean is just a bit of the north of the Spanish border and is one of the hub of the Pays Basques.
The Basques are a unique and separate people with a language that is reportedly distinct from any other language on earth. In Spain their efforts at separatism have often generated violence by both sides in the dispute. In the Basque region of France there are bilingual schools (French and Basque), bilingual signage and pride (formal and official as well as personal) in the Basque heritage. Consequently, physical confrontation seems to be much less of an issue.
Facilities for motor homes in Saint-Jean and its neighbouring Cibourne, during the winter, are, to put a nice touch on it, limited. The one quiet place we found was behind “Entrée Interdite” (Keep Out) signs and a lifted barrier in a shipyard. Concerns about finding the barrier closed and locked, and its relative isolation in an industrial area moved us on from this quite nice harbour-front location. The one “official” site consists of 5 designated spaces at the train station in Saint-Jean, literally backing onto the platform, with a loudspeaker at our back window announcing all the arrivals and departures. While electric engines are much quieter than diesels, any train does sound noisy when it is 15 feet away especially in the middle of the night. By 11 P.M. the traffic on the road 20 feet in front of us had virtually disappeared so our sleep was only slightly disrupted. Across the road the fishing fleet harbour presented colourful sites and a few malodorous whiffs.The history of Saint-Jean-de-Luz prior to the 12th century is not well documented and little is known of it. The silting of the Ardour River and the consequent collapse of the port of Bayonne (near Biarritz about 10 km. north of St.-Jean) created a potential for the ocean-front site at the mouth of the Nivelle River. In 1420 the people of the failing town of Bayonne were prohibited from settling on the banks of the Nivelle, although several small shipyards had already been established here. The control of the Baron of this region was ceded to the Chapter of Canons around 1450 and then purchased by the people of Saint-Jean in 1570. Being close to the Spanish frontier and in a contested area, as well as on the Compostela pilgrimage route, many kings and queens passed through the area:
the Black Prince, Louis XI (1461), François I (1526), and Charles IX (1565). But the most famous was the Sun King – Louis XIV who came here for his politically motivated marriage to Maria-Teresa of Austria, the Infanta (Princess) of Spain on 9 June 1660.
She stayed in this harbour-front Italianate “palace”
while the Sun King spread his brilliance in this more mundane home of a rich ship owner. The house has been in the ownership of the same family for over 350 years.Saint-Jean was both blessed and threatened by the Atlantic Ocean. It provided food and the port was also an industrial port. But the ocean also provided access by raiders from various countries, although later it created much of the wealth of the town through the exploits of its own corsairs (officially sanctioned pirates - privateers) who raided as far afield as the coast of Venezuela, and became a thorn in the paw of the British Lion. Their raiding of heavily laden rich S
panish ships in the South Atlantic provided significant revenues to the town and its inhabitants. The ocean also created frequent and major flooding resulting in the construction of a series of unsuccessful breakwaters. This was finally resolved in the 19th century with the construction of the current ones.The Compostela pilgrimage route gave rise to nefarious practices at various stopping points. For some reason Saint-Jean-de-Luz gained unfortunate notoriety in 1609 when many of its womenfolk were accused of witchcraft. The town’s fisherman were forced to return from their cod fishing ventures in Newfoundland (the Canadian Connection) to save 600 women from being burnt at the stake.
The Ēglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste, is first mentioned in 1186 but frequent Spanish invasions resulted in its destruction and subsequent reconstruction. Today the oldest remaining parts date from the 14th and 15th centuries. I
n the 17th century the successful exploitation of whaling in the Atlantic and cod-fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland brought prosperity and the town grew to 12,000 inhabitants. This permitted an expansion of the church beginning in 1649 and it was in this “under construction” church that Louis XIV and Maria-Teresa were married in 1660. Today the Choir of the church is a beautiful series of gold-leafed statuettes.
Once a popular sea bathing resort and then a fashionable up-market resort until 1936, Saint-Jean has in many ways been eclipsed by nearby Biarritz. The town’s economy today is based on a declining fishing industry, tourism and cultural tourism.posted by Retired and on the Move | 1:40 AM
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