Pau in Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantiques département)

(estape 18, Oloron Sainte-Marie near Pau)

Sights from Chemins de Saint-Jacques (via Tolosana - Saint-Jacques de Compostelle), an ancient Pilgramage (includes photos from Pau, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Montpellier, Avignon and other places) Pau

(estape 15, at Morlàas)

Béarn was once a small semi-independent province, immediately north of the Pyrénées, about 45 miles long and 35 miles wide. Pau, its capital, lies at the center. It formed a considerable portion of the Kingdom of Navarre. The city had become the seat of the viscounts of Béarn. Pau was made the capital of Béarn Province in 1464. With magnificent views of the mountains in the NW portion of the Pyrenees range, in the early 16th century the Château de Pau became the residence of the kings of Navarre, who were also counts of Béarn.

The beautiful sky of Pau, Beth Ceü de Paü, about which (with enthusiasm) the inhabitants of Béarn continue to sing, is not a legend without substance. Under this sky one must stroll to find the testimony of the long history of this city that saw two kings being born: Henri IV (Navarre and France) and Bernadotte (Roi de Suède) and un peu histoire anglais. http://www.pau-en-ligne.com/english/history-of-pau.php

Pau overlooks its river and valley, Gave de Pau, a gateway to Spain for centuries. Up river (south-east) sits Lourdes; Bayonne, downstream, is near the coast. The ancient pilgrimage trail to Spain (Chemins de Saint-Jacques) crosses the valley here. The site was fortified by the 11th century — the word pau-paü means palissade in Occitan language, one of the medieval dialects of Langue d'oc (southern France). Pictures HERE. http://www.pau.fr/ecards/

Today, Pau sits in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pau, but saying that is not enough. Basses-Pyrénées was one of the original 83 Departments of France created during the French Revolution (March 4, 1790). It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne, Béarn, and Gascony and included the three traditional provinces of the northern Basque Country: Labourd, Soule and Basse-Navarre. On October 10, 1969, Basses-Pyrénées was renamed Pyrénées-Atlantiques, part of the Aquitaine region of Southwest France. Both the Gascon language and the Basque language remain indigenous to this region. Gascon, an Occitan language, is more closely related to Catalan than to French. Basque (Euskera) is an isolated tongue.

The Kingdom of Navarre was one of the Christian kingdoms to emerge in northern Spain after the Muslim conquest in the 8th century, next to Asturias, Leon, Castile and Aragon. It once extended north and south of the Pyrénées. When the local dynasty died out, the counts of Champagne inherited it. One heiress, Jeanne, married the King of France, Philippe IV (d. 1314). The kingdom of Navarre passed by marriage to Aragon in 1425, then to Foix in 1480, then it merged into the then powerful Albret holdings. In 1512, the part of the kingdom south of the mountains broke off, lost by Spanish Conquista. Then, by a quirk of fate and much fighting (rights of succession always being contested), France and Navarre reunited. Pau was the birthplace (December 13, 1553) of Prince Henry of Navarre (d.1610). Henri IV had become the Kinging of Navarre by right of his mother Jeanne d'Albret (1572). Navarre aceeded to France when he became King of France by his father's right (House of Bourbon) in 1589. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/navarre.htm

It was more complicated than that, the times affected by the period of Protestant Reformation. Protestant King Henry of Navarre became Catholic King Henry IV of France to calm the fears of excommunication by the general public and the nation's nobility, {http://www.musee-chateau-pau.fr/homes/home_id20468_u1l2.htm}. He became the first of the Bourbon Kings. He may be best remembered for the Edict of Nantes, which ended the Wars of Religion in France, as well as giving some measure of freedom to worship. He remarked to the local notables, as he left Pau to become Roi of all France, that he was not giving Béarn to France, he was giving France to Béarn. His son finished the job of consolidating the southern kingdom into France.

Napoleon III refurbished the château, while Pau added streets of Belle Époque architecture, before fashion transferred its fancy to nearby Biarritz on the coast. Alas, this writer has been to Biarritz and Bayonne, but not Pau. http://www.diocese-bayonne.org/spip.php?rubrique71 A tour from the early 19th Century, with Pics. Map of City and links to lots of stuff. Art in Pau: http://www.pau.fr/magazine/portraits/20071210_144319

Peter Crothaire (derivation of de la CROIX), a Huguenot, last of the Bordeaux region (his parents were béarnais, from the region of Béarn northern Navarre (or possibly from somewhat nearby Dax)), changed his last name to LaRoche (upon marriage ?), during his service to the husband of Queen Anne. Peter by records found in London indicates his place of birth as Nai. One of the Trustees of Georgia at its founding, John LaRoche, was the son, brother or perhaps nephew of Peter LaRoche né Crothaire (see also http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/tdgh-nov/nov10.htm) Another relation, of a later generation, Isaac LaRoche, was born in Savannah. He became a merchant-farmer in Richmond County, Georgia. Records indicate that his father (also named Isaac) was a soldier in the American Revolution. Isaac's wife, Elizabeth, was also the granddaughter of Donald MacKay, who as a child first settled at New Inverness (Darien, Georgia) in January 1736.

Nai is also spelled as Nay in modern times. It sits further up into the mountains about 20 miles SE of Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques département). It lies in the former province of Béarn. The commune is crossed by the Gave de Pau and one of its tributaries, the Béez. Claracq, on the other side of the Gave de Pau, was once a separate town. Today, it is a district of Nay, along the canal. Nay had much to suffer throughout its more recent history. Nai burned in 1534, from a fire of unknown origin that entirely consumed the town. Shortly thereafter, during the religious wars that followed the papists plundered the town in 1569. The Huguenots returned with vigor to protect their claims. Among the Protestants who emigrated from Nai is a Mr. Olivier, an ancestor of British actor Sir Laurence Olivier. Notable is the church Saint-Vincent (15th Century). Its west wall was built before that time and the bell (of 1245) still rings. The bell tower (about 100 feet tall) was added in 1520. Down the road, further south and east are Lourdes and Tarbes.