L'Église Saint-Martin by mikey_e
The Église Saint-Martin is probably the first church that every visitor to the city enters. It is a large and centrally-located building, steps from the Château and the Place Royale, which is why I say that it's likely the first one anyone notices. I remembered it from the first trip that we took to Pau, when I was struck by its size and, more importantly, the fact that it I picked up a few religious pamphlets in Gascon dedicated to the older parishioners who still used the language. Now that I am more mature (I hope), I decided to revisit the church to see if there was actually more to admire than just its size and its Gascon-language services (this time around, however, there were no signs or pamphlets in any language other than standard Parisian French). The church is in the neo-Gothic style, having been constructed in the latter half of the 19th century, and it has the usual dark, cavernous interior that is associated with Gothic and neo-Gothic structures. The real beauty is in the stained glass, as there are many examples of this art medium, with the real crowning jewel being a stained glass rose that tells the story of Saint Martin. Given that there are relatively few visitors (there was only a Spanish couple there at the same time as me), you are likely to be able to enjoy this stained glass and other examples in relative quiet.
