The Château de Pau (, ) is a castle in the centre of the city of Pau, the capital of

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

and

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

. It dominates that quarter of the city. Henry IV of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

was born here on December 13, 1553, and it was once used by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

as a holiday home during his period of power. The

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

has been classified as a ''

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' since 1840 by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

. Nowadays, as the Musée national du Château de Pau, it contains a collection of

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

History

Origins

Pau Castle was founded in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. First and foremost a military structure, it is a typical fortified

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

built on top of the hill overlooking the Gave bounded by the Hédas ravine. Since its construction, the castle has taken on a symbolic importance: possessing a stockade of piles (''pau'', in Béarnese), it designates, by

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...

, the city itself. These piles, symbolizing loyalty and righteousness, are each like ''axis mundi'' in a Béarnese version. In the twelfth century Gaston IV of Béarn built three towers at the fortress. They are called Mazères, Billère and Montauser.

Gaston Fébus

The fourteenth century was troublesome as the region was torn between the competing claims of the powerful warring enemy kingdoms of France and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In contrast, the local lords sought to make

united and independent, under a sovereign count. Such a man was the formidable Gaston III, Count of Foix, better known as Gaston Fébus (also spelt Phoebus). He greatly reinforced the fortress's defences and added a new 33-metre-high brick tower, defiantly inscribed in Béarnaise: "Febus me fe" (Fébus made me).

The Kings of Navarre

During the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, the installation of the court of

in 1512 significantly altered the appearance of the castle. Originally a fortress, it now became a pleasure residence.

Henry II of Navarre Henry II (Spanish: ''Enrique II''; Basque: ''Henrike II''; 18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of t ...

resided there with his wife Marguerite d'Angoulême, sister of Francis I, best known as Marguerite de Navarre, author of The '' Heptaméron''. They marked the place with their initials, still present on the walls and ceilings, and great care was taken to maintain and reproduce the initials even over the subsequent restorations.

Henry IV

But their grandson gave the castle the fame it has today: not by any architectural endeavor, nor even by his own will. The future Henry IV was born in it on December 13, 1553, and the story did the rest. The fame of the King, baby boy cradled in a turtle shell preserved by Béarn through the vicissitudes of revolutions, gives the castle, which did not see him grow up or die, a particular taste, and the right to claim the honor due those who give birth to supermen. But the real recognition of the King is posthumous, and the castle that he was born in was soon forgotten, except to unite Navarre and Béarn with the Kingdom of France (for which

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

signed the treaty in 1620). File:Château de Pau - Fonds Ancely - B315556101 A MALBOS 2 006.jpg, The castle in 1843, by the French romantic painter Eugène de Malbos. File:Pati interior del castell de Pau (cropped).jpg, Courtyard of the château in 1905, by the Catalan photographer Josep Salvany i Blanch.

The restoration

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

, who would combine the ideals of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

and those of the monarchy, had the idea of restoring the castle of the man who reconciled

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

into a royal residence. The castle was a gilded prison in 1848 for the emir Abd El-Kader, conquered by France in Algeria. In order that this castle should retain its character, Henricians placed there many ''neo-Renaissance'' and ''neo-Gothic'' objects, and a collection of tapestries (16th - 19th century), to recall the halcyon days of the good king. Louis-Philippe, in exile in England, could never stay at this place which was visited by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. It is the Renaissance portal through which one enters and which bears the initials of the royal couple of Navarre, founder of the modern castle. File:SchlossPau1900-2.jpg, The château from the east front, 1890–1900 File:SchlossPau1900-1.jpg, The château from the east front, 1890–1900 File:The castle from south front, Pau, Pyrenees, France-LCCN2001698664.jpg, The château from the south front, 1890–1900 File:Pau1900-1.jpg, The château and bridge, 1890–1900

The national museum

Then the castle became a presidential residence in the Republic. It is currently a national museum which houses the works preserved from the days of Henry IV and especially during the restoration made by Louis-Philippe. The collections are increasing every year around the Henrician theme. It currently hosts over 100,000 visitors annually, making it the most visited heritage site of the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Notes

External links

Musée national du château de Pau
- official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pau, Chateau De Châteaux in Pyrénées-Atlantiques Buildings and structures in Pau Historic house museums in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Museums in Pyrénées-Atlantiques National museums of France Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Monuments historiques of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Royal residences in France