Paris1972-Versailles2003

I bring you back to my memorable Pau, Many trips here if reading my blog over the years and thank you, I have many posts on the City, but decided to split the castle museum into castle per se and the marvelous gardens, Oh yes Pau is in dept 64 Pyrénées-Atlantique in the region of Nouvelle Aquitaine of my belle France.  The City is only about 200 km from Bordeaux and Toulouse and 250 km from Zaragoza in Aragon,Spain. We have come always by car taken all the A64 La Pyrénéenne, A65 autoroute de Gascogne, N117 and N134 and as well the great beltway of Pau the D817 with lots of speed radars so check the sites to avoid them ! Ok ok so let me tell you about the Castle Museum of Pau and its gardens !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

In the 16C, the family of Albret created an exceptional set of gardens and parks around the castle the kings of Navarre thus develop a warren, an orchard, a chesnut grove, a vine, a small and a large park (named lower-level and high-level) the Haute-Plante (high level) is transformed into a public square (present Place de Verdun) as well as a cemetery. The lower level is, in part, preserved and the gardens become accessible to the public in the mid-19C. The lower level now occupies 23 hectares in the heart of the city with parks and gardens, as well as a forest. The present place Gramont occupies the other part of the original lower level. However, let me tell you more , a lot more of the gardens of the Castle of Pau !!

A true green lung in the heart of the Pau , a 22-hectare national estate surrounds the Château de Pau. Vestige and heir of the immense domain of the kings of Navarre. It presents walkers with multiple opportunities for discovery in what remains a true historic garden. This garden is located at the foot of the embankment covered with stones and you cross it to access the former Tour du Moulin (current tour de la Monnaie). This is the first known mention of the Jardin du Midi. Undoubtedly linked to the beautification work on the Château de Pau under Gaston Fébus, these gardens must, as was customary in the Middle Ages, include simple squares, necessary for cooking and pharmacopoeia.

The 16C was the peak of the gardens of the Château de Pau. We know that Antoine de Bourbon personally oversaw the organization of these gardens and that his son Henri IV, who had moved away from Pau in 1587, had plans and drawings drawn up, took an interest in their maintenance, had trees and plants sent for the gardens of his palaces in Île-de-France. The royal domain of Pau was then made up of several complexes, all equally designed for the delight of the court of Navarre: the Petit Jardin or Small Garden all around the castle with arbors and covered gallery; the Jardin du Bas or Lower Garden whose flowerbeds are decorated with extraordinary topiaries, one of which represents Jonah and the whale; Jardin du Haut, or High Garden planted with orchards and surrounded by canals which also serve as fish ponds; the Petit Parc or Small Park enclosed by walls, where the alley de Madame, a beautiful sandy path lined with elms, leads to Castet Béziat, a one-story pavilion built by Jeanne d’Albret.

It was in the 18C that the slow deterioration of this ensemble began. Also, when in 1796, the former department of Basses-Pyrénées decided to sell it. as a national asset, purchase proposals are not long in coming. Worried about seeing the castle gardens of this magnificent and healthy promenade, this enchanting site dismembered, several citizens of the city of Pau have the original idea, supported by the town council of creating a company responsible for buying back all of the lots and to administer it to keep it as is, except for embellishments for the benefit of the city’s inhabitants. The members, whose number exceeds a hundred, succeed in implementing their project. Until 1815, they worked to maintain walls and doors, clean the paths, prune trees and plant others, and improve surveillance of the park. The company even had plans to build a bridge connecting the castle to Basse-Plante, a project actually carried out…under the July Monarchy (1830–48) ! On January 4, 1815, on the proposal of the mayor of Pau, the members gathered in a general meeting, voted unanimously to offer the garden park property to King Louis XVIII . The only small restriction on this abandonment of their property titles is that the park remains a place for people to walk. Which was granted.

The Midi terrace was completely redeveloped in the 1960s and 1980s: the double row of plane trees which had lined it since the 19C were cut down and Renaissance-inspired gardens were created there by teams of gardeners from the national estate. Despite regular maintenance, the state of the park and the Basse-Plante was considered worrying in the 1990s: the species planted in the 1830s had aged and in the winter of 1995-1996, a violent storm caused the fall of around fifty trees. A restoration project for this ensemble is then commissioned by the Aquitaine Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs. It still continues today. In 2013, the domain was attached to the national museum, the administration thus reconstituting the unity of the former royal domain. Rehabilitation work continues with the restoration of the glacis supporting the castle terraces since 2017, the regeneration of the wooded park in successive phases since 1999.

A wonderful group which is even if I am not a member , do belongs to the major castles museums in France and support fully their activities for the preservation of this wonderful national heritage of my France, Founded in 1952, the Society of Friends of the Château de Pau (SACP) aims to enrich the collections of the Museum and national domain of the château through donations and to contribute to the influence of this monument so dear to the hearts of the Béarnais. It also publishes publications such as Le Petit Journal and the essential Bulletin de la Société des Amis du château du Pau. Official Society of Friends of the Château de Pau : https://lesamisduchateaudepau.fr/

The Official Castle of Pau : https://chateau-pau.fr/

The Pyrénées Atlantiques dept 64 Tourist office on the castle : https://resa.tourisme64.com/activites/pau/PCUAQU064FS0004W-musee-national-et-domaine-du-chateau-de-pau/

The Pau Pyréenes Tourist office on the castle : https://www.pau-pyrenees.com/home/notre-patrimoine/une-touche-de-culture/musee-national-du-chateau-de-pau

There you go folks, another gem of my belle France so many right, yes! And as a base, Pau is great even going into Spain! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Castle of Pau and its gardens as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!