Eglise Sainte-Hélène de Hourtin

The church of Ste Hélène d'Hourtin was built in 1868, succeeding the former church of Ste Hélène de l'Etang near Carcans, and then the first church on the market square of Hourtin (the last interior restoration dates from 1992).
The church consists of a central nave with 5 bays and 2 side aisles. Inside, the polychrome decoration dates back to the end of the 19th century. The friezes, restored in the 1990s, punctuate the colonnade of the choir in modern tones. The starry sky in the apse has disappeared, as has the red and gold drapery under the stained glass windows, damaged by water infiltration.
The keys of the nave's ribbed vaults bear various inscriptions, some of them in Latin.
The windows were restored between 1959 and 1960. Those in the choir are dedicated to St Helena, St Louis, patron saint of the Lord of Lesparre, and the four Evangelists. The stained glass windows in the side aisles depict the lives of Mary and Joseph.