Church of Santa María del Manzano, Hondarribia, Catholic church in the old town of Hondarribia, Spain
The Église Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers is a church in the old town of Hondarribia, in northern Spain, combining Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architectural elements. It stands over fragments of the town's original medieval walls and has a Latin cross floor plan with three naves at different heights inside.
The church dates to the 15th century and was expanded through the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with the last major additions completed in the 18th century. The bell tower, designed by Francisco de Ibero, replaced an older tower-house that had stood on the same site.
The church remains an active place of worship, and on August 15 the surrounding streets fill with a procession that draws people from across the region. In the sacristy, silk robes and decorated crowns are kept, said to have been used during a royal wedding between Princess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Louis XIV of France.
The church is easy to reach on foot through the narrow cobbled streets of Hondarribia's old town, with the main entrance on Calle Mayor. Visiting during a Sunday Mass gives a good sense of how the building is used by the local community.
Inside, there is a representation of the Holy Trinity showing three heads on a single figure, which is considered rare on the Iberian Peninsula and uncommon across Europe. The sacristy, built in the early 1600s, rests directly on a section of the medieval town wall, making it possible to see the boundary between the old fortification and the church's later construction.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
