The watefront of Ciboure, at dawn, seen from Saint Jean de Luz.  The town takes its name from the Basque Ziburu, which means "head of the bridge".  The original bridge, made of wood, was downstream from the current one.

In the 16th century violent quarrels and even fights broke out between the two towns. Ciboure, on the "bad" side of the river, had become a haven for runaway Moors and Jews from Spain and other pirates and vagabonds, and the people of Saint Jean de Luz accused them of thievery and rowdiness. 

 

 

In order to make peace between the squabbling communities, the Recollets monastery - the broad, squat building with the bellfry in the center of the picture - was founded, on the island in the river on which the two sections of the bridge rested.  (The island is no longer an island because it was attached to Ciboure by a landfill).

 

The tallest and most distinctive house on the Ciboure waterfront was built, in the style typical of Amsterdam, by a Flemish trader who wanted to remember his native Holland. 

It is now called "La Maison de Maurice Ravel" because it is the birthplace and home of the early 20th century composer.  Ravel's father, an inventor, was of Swiss origin, and his mother was from a local Basque family.

The broad estuary narrows into a channel leading from the harbour out into the bay of Saint Jean de Luz, creating a bottleneck to keep out the waves, which enter the bay from the open sea.  

The jetty - "la jettée", as it is called - lies on the northern side of the entrance to the port.  The curious lighthouses are called "les feux" and were made of concrete in the 1930's in a modernistic version of Basque architecture. Their lights guide the boats entering the harbour at night.

Saint Jean de Luz seen from Ciboure.  The tower in the center is the Church of Saint John the Baptist.

Once upon a time and believe-it-or-not...

...Saint Jean de Luz and Ciboure were joined into a single town called Chauvin-Dragon!  The only memory of this ill-fated attempt to banish local rivalry is the name of a street in Saint Jean de Luz, as seen above, Rue Chauvin-Dragon.

 The decision to make one town of two was taken during the Revolution, in 1793. Since saints' names - and everything religious - was shunned during that period, the new town was called after a Republican soldier who died in battle nearby fighting bravely agains the Spanish, a Dragoon whose surname was Chauvin.  The name was originally "Chauvin le Dragon", but then was abbreviated and hyphenated.

The merger was reasonable, considering how close the two towns were to one another, but the locals wanted nothing of it, and as soon as the revolutionary fervour subsided it was dropped. Chauvin-Dragon was committed to oblivion (few people know it ever existed) and Saint Jean de Luz and Ciboure resumed their separate lives.  Chacun pour soi-même!

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