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=== Civil monuments === ==== Until the 18th century ==== {{Main|Château de Pau}} The Château de Pau dominates the Gave de Pau. Its two oldest towers date from the 12th century. The quadrangular tower of brick was raised by [[Sicard de Lordat]] in the 14th century. Thus constituted fortress was turned into a Renaissance palace by Marguerite d'Angoulême and then restored under [[Louis Philippe I|Louis-Philippe]] and [[Napoleon III]]. In summary, the castle was fortress of the [[Viscounts of Béarn]], [[Castle]] of Fébus, birthplace of the good King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (''Nouste Enric'') and royal residence in [[the Renaissance]]. A first defensive tower desired below the castle by [[Gaston III, Count of Foix|Gaston Fébus]], then called the "Tour du Moulin" [tower of the mill] for a time, was built along a water channel operating the mill of the castle as early as the 15th century. The ''Tour de la Monnaie'' [Money Tower] was named according to [[Henry II of Navarre|Henri d'Albret]] who, in 1554, used it as a [[Mint (coin)|mint]]. Today containing a [[Elevator|lift]] within, it was used for the coinage of money until the [[French Revolution]]. Its small garden was tended by [[Marie Antoinette]] when she spent her summers in the city. Napoleon used it as a holiday home during his period in power. The château has been designated as a French historical monument and holds a collection of [[tapestry|tapestries]]. <gallery mode="packed"> File:Château de Pau depuis jardin.JPG|[[Château de Pau]] File:Carapace-berceau d'Henri IV (château de Pau) .jpg|Birthplace of Henri IV File:Tour de la monnaie Pau.JPG|''Tour de la Monnaie'' [Money Tower] </gallery> {{Main|{{Interlanguage link|Parlement de Navarre (Pau)|fr|3=Parlement de Navarre (Pau)|lt=Parlement de Navarre}}}} Close to the castle, the ''Parlement de Navarre'' [Parliament of Navarre], so named, saw its origins in the annexation of Béarn to the Crown of France under [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] in 1620. Though, in fact, he established himself in a very old courthouse that had been built as early as 1585 in place of the house of the Bishop of Lescar. Burned down in 1716, it was rebuilt but quickly abandoned in favour of the current courthouse. The General Council settled there and it still holds its sessions. {{Main|Lycée Louis-Barthou}} Lycée Louis Barthou, originally a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] college, was built in [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]]'s appeal, probably between 1622 and 1645, for the restoration of Catholicism. It has illustrious alumni such as [[Comte de Lautréamont|Lautréamont]], [[Louis Barthou]], [[Saint-John Perse]], [[Pierre Bourdieu]], [[Daniel Balavoine]] and [[Henri Emmanuelli]]. {{Main|{{Interlanguage link|Musée Bernadotte|fr}}}} The Birthplace of Bernadotte Museum is today of particular interest to Swedish tourists, it dates from the 18th century. Bernadotte was a French non-commissioned officer who was born in Pau and became a general of Napoleon and then King of [[Sweden]] under the name [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Charles XIV]]. ==== In the 19th century ==== [[File:Pau Gassion (1).jpg|thumb|The former ''Hotel de Gassion'']] {{Main|{{Interlanguage link|Hôtel de Gassion|fr}}}} Former grand hotels of the [[Belle Époque]] which were in direct competition, the ''Hotel de Gassion'' and the ''Hotel de France'', are located on the ''[[Boulevard des Pyrénées]]''. The ''Hotel de Gassion'', located between the château and the Church of Saint-Martin, now houses apartments. The ''Hotel de France'', located to the east of the ''Place Royale'', now houses the services of the Communauté d'agglomération de Pau-Pyrénées and is the second decision-making centre in Pau. {{Main|{{Interlanguage link|Palais Beaumont|fr}}}} The ''Palais Beaumont'', originally referred to as the ''Palais d'Hiver'' [Winter Palace], was created at the end of the 19th century. Mixing architectural styles, it was repeatedly altered and was renovated from 1996, after half a century of neglect. It hosts a casino but is primarily a convention centre, a space for events such as seminars and fairs. {{Main|Funiculaire de Pau}} The funicular, which joins with the upper town, the historic centre, has carried travellers to and from the railway station, since 1908. {{Main|Hôtel de Ville, Pau}} Municipal services settled in the current premises of the [[Hôtel de Ville, Pau|Hôtel de Ville]] in 1876. The building, located north of the {{Interlanguage link|Place Royale (Pau)|fr|3=Place Royale (Pau)|lt=''Place Royale''}}, is actually a former theatre dating from 1862. The project to erect the Church of Saint-Louis, on the site, launched in 1685 and revived in 1788, was never successful.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.agglo-pau.fr/images/pdf_articles/culture/Bel_Ordinaire/apparitions_livret_programme_TBD.pdf |title= Les apparitions |publisher= Pau porte des pyrénées |page=20 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180612/http://www.agglo-pau.fr/images/pdf_articles/culture/Bel_Ordinaire/apparitions_livret_programme_TBD.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> The climate tourism which took over in Pau has left a set of prestigious villas as a legacy. Rich English, American and Russian tourists built villas to facilitate their stay during the winter. These buildings, English-style, were mainly built at the end of the 19th century. These villas now have various uses such as a charming hotel (Villa Navarre, an Anglo-Norman Manor built between 1865 and 1870),<ref name="Pays basque">{{cite book|title=Pays basque|publisher=Place Des Editeurs|year=2013|page=221}}</ref> a reception room (Villa Saint Basil's built in 1889), apartments (Palais Sorrento in 1888) and as a residence of the prefect (Villa Saint Helena) etc. The current courthouse was built on the territory of the former convent of the Cordeliers. The ''Place de la Libération'' today participates in the majesty of a building whose façade is classically decorated with columns, themselves topped by a pediment in white marble. Its construction began in 1847. The railway station, of [[Gustave Eiffel|Eiffel]] style, was inaugurated in 1871 below the city centre. {{Main|{{Interlanguage link|Caserne Bernadotte|fr}}}} It was natural that a barracks was progressively built in Pau from 1825 to 1875, the prefectural town close to the border. The Bernadotte Barracks, which today contains the national archives of the army, thus welcomed two regiments as early as 1830. The current {{Interlanguage link|Place de Verdun (Pau)|fr|3=Place de Verdun (Pau)|lt=''Place de Verdun''}} which has become parking and was formerly known as ''Place Napoleon'', was, in fact, an area of close exercises. ==== Of the 20th century to the present day ==== [[File:Palais des Pyrénées - Pau.JPG|thumb|Palais des Pyrénées]] *Inaugurated in 2000 at the foot of the original Parliament of Navarre, the Hôtel du Département [Departmental Administrative Building], a building of glass on which some buildings of the ''Boulevard des Pyrénées'' are reflected, now includes all administrative services linked to it. *Renovated in 2007, the Bosquet Centre, is a shopping centre of contemporary architecture in the centre of town. Borrowing its name from [[Pierre Bosquet|Marshal Bosquet]] who has a nearby statue, it was built on the site of the former Hospital of Pau. *The ''Palais des Pyrénées'' [Palace of the Pyrenees], the second shopping centre in the heart of the city, has had a tumultuous history. In its current form, it seems to have regained its spirit of 1808, that of the "Passage of Napoleon", a commercial route which heralded the modern covered market of 1838, destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century. The ''Palais des Pyrenees'' from 1930, or the ''Palais du Commerce et des Fêtes'' [Palace of trade and celebrations], was an art-deco complex covered with shops but also theatres, a casino and even a mini golf course. Return to its original condition began in 1951 with the removal of the roofing over the central path, Pau people regained views of the Pyrenees. Four buildings were then raised. It was in 2006 which it appeared in its current form, proud of its canopies of glass and steel. *Since 1971, the ''Archives Départementales'' [Departmental Archives] have settled into two buildings, one of them of particularly atypical appearance due to its tiny triangular windows, which are designed to give the best protection to the preserved documents. *The ''Archives Communautaires de l'Agglomération de Pau-Pyrénées '' [Community Archives of the Agglomeration of Pau-Pyrénées] are grouped, since March 2011, in the buildings of the former tram factory (on the site of what was previously a gas plant, as evidenced by the high chimney). *The ''Faculté de Lettres et Sciences Humaines'' [Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences], and the ''Maison de l'Agriculture'' [House of Agriculture], with similar architectures dating from the start of the 1970s, break in their likeness as the first seems to humbly blend in with the vegetation, while the second seems to display a relative majesty.
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