Dax Cathedral has been the the bishop's seat officially since 1833 when it was transferred from Aire Cathedral. In the late 13th century, when the town of Dax was at the height of its prosperity, the bishops had a number of ecclesiastical buildings constructed, among which was a new cathedral on the site of an ancient Romanesque sanctuary which had become too cramped. This Gothic structure collapsed in 1646; all that remains of it is the magnificent Portal of the Apostles in the north transept: 12 metres high and 8 metres wide, this doorway contains a quantity of beautiful sculptures, fairly rare in the south of France, despite some mutilations and damage incurred during the passage of time.
Apart from the portal, which was classed as a national monument of France in its own right in 1884, the present cathedral was built from 1694 onwards in a plain style of classical inspiration. The main façade and south elevation have a massive, almost austere, appearance. The north elevation however, which looks onto a small square in the historical centre of the town, does not lack charm, despite a certain rigidity.
The dome over the crossing is decorated with murals. The quire houses the old stalls (16th century) of the canons, saved from the former cathedral. The mid-18th century high altar and the altar of the Virgin Mary are of polychromatic marble and are the work of the Mazzetti brothers, originally from Switzerland but resident in Avignon. The organ loft, of the late 17th century, was the work of Caular, a local ebonist. After its recent restoration this organ loft is considered one of the most beautiful in France.
The building also contains a number of paintings, among them 'Jesus and His Disciples' by Gerrit van Honthorst (17th century), and the 'Adoration of the Shepherds' by Hans von Aachen (late 16th century).
References:Goryōkaku (五稜郭) (literally, 'five-point fort') is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.
Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō and Jules Brunet. Their plans was based on the work of the French architect Vauban. The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.
The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by the Meiji government.
Goryōkaku is famous as the site of the last battle of the Boshin War.