Editing Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques (section)

=== Origins ===
Before the 10th century, there are no traces to date of occupation of the site on which the city is now built. The city was built on a site with very special qualities. The [[Gave de Pau]], which descends from the Pyrenees, was a river which was fairly difficult to cross, and for a distance of approximately {{convert|50|km}}, only three fords existed: from Nay to the east, from Orthez to the west and that of Pau, strategically located between the two. The northern extremity of a plateau, formed to a point, overlooks this ford of almost {{convert|80|m}}. In summary, it is an ideal natural location to control the passage and the arrivals from the Pyrenees, and a small monitoring station was built around the year 1000, a fort surrounded by a simple palisade.

The site was fortified in the 11th century<ref>''Histoire de Pau'', pp. 11–15</ref> to control the ford across the Gave de Pau. It was built on the north bank, equidistant from [[Lescar]], seat of the bishops, and from [[Morlaàs]].

Until the 12th century, this fort was consolidated and some houses were combined there, together, in a small hamlet. The lords of Béarn then granted the status of [[viguerie]] (a small administrative district in the [[Middle Ages]]) to this new village which continued to expand gently. In [[Béarnese dialect|Bearnese]], the palisade was called Paü. Historians agree to this being the origin of the name of the city.

In the 13th century, new recognition of the importance and the expansion of Pau, which had become the town of Castelnau, with a [[bailli]] appointed by the [[viscounts of Béarn]].{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

[[Gaston III, Count of Foix|Gaston Fébus]] (descendant of the counts of Foix and one of the first iconic figures of Béarn), who was very attached to the independence of his small country. He began his major work to reinforce the strongholds of Béarn, including the Château of Pau where he finally settled.

Pau was made the capital of [[Béarn]] in 1464, instead of Orthez. During the early 16th century, the Château de Pau became the residence of the [[List of Navarrese monarchs|Kings of Navarre]], who were also viscounts of Béarn.

Pau is the only city in Europe in which two founders of royal dynasties were born: [[Henry IV of France]] of the [[House of Bourbon]], born in 1553, and [[Charles XIV John of Sweden]] of the [[House of Bernadotte]], born in 1763.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}