The Basse-Plante
The twenty-three hectares that make up this national estate are split into three areas linked by a bridge and a footbridge: the perimeter of the castle, the Basse-Plante and the wooded park, vestiges of an exceptional garden left to us by the 16th century.
It’s almost certain that a small garden of simples (medicinal and aromatic plants) existed within the medieval castle walls. However, it was only in the 15th century, under the lords of Béarn who became kings of Navarre in 1481, that it became an estate, reaching its peak during the Renaissance. At that time, it consisted of the small garden, the large lower gardens, the large higher gardens, the rabbit warren, the orchard, the chestnut wood, the small park, the large park and the vineyard.
Although Henry III of Navarre, who became Henry IV of France, never returned to Pau after 1587, he remained very attached to his gardens. He had plans drawn up for them, regularly received news about them, and had plants and cuttings sent to him for his gardens in Paris.
After his death in 1610 the gardens of the castle continued to be maintained regularly but the 18th century signalled the end of their splendour. The town’s grand urban development projects (streets, squares and a cemetery), and exploitation of its woods, gradually ate away at the royal domain. Saved from being completely destroyed during the Revolution, in the middle of the 19th century the park became a favourite place to walk. Nevertheless, by the 20th century the lack of maintenance and the natural aging of the trees made a fundamental restructuring necessary, which began in the 1990s and continues today.
A short history of the Basse-Plante
The Basse-Plante is what’s left of the large lower gardens which lay to the north of the castle. Today it covers a quarter of the original extent of these gardens of which it is the extreme west part. Originally, they extended as far as what is now Place Gramont, covered the east of the Rue d’Étigny and the slopes that lead to Place de Verdun and the cemetery. They included the rabbit warren, the vineyard and the Parterre Garden, whose squares arranged around a circular pool were ornamented with spectacular topiary (clipped shrubs). It had wide tunnels, carefully looked after walkways, and furnished garden rooms, making it a famous place in which to relax.
The Basse-Plante, so called to distinguish it from the large upper gardens, which have disappeared today, was restored in 2001 according to an 18th century plan. Carefully arranged trees surround squares of lawn bordered by walkways. A plane planted in 1821 has been protected and is now a “remarkable tree”. An opening in the west wall leads to the Maison Baylaucq, a beautiful mansion rebuilt in the 19th century on the foundations of an old building belonging to the royal estate (the house of the keeper of the forest). Its renovation was finished in 2013.
To the west the Basse-Plante led to the wooded park via a walkway and to the east to the castle perimeter by the Nemours (or Louis-Philippe) bridge, both built in the 19th century.
Some information about biodiversity
In 2019 eco-pastoralism was introduced: sheep replaced lawnmowers, encouraging the reappearance of plants such as wild orchids. The introduction of a hedge along the fence that separates the Basse-Plante from Rue d’Étigny was designed as a visual and audio screen to protect users of the garden, but it also acts as a transition zone between natural and urban spaces for animal and plant species.