Pau

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For the Italian town, see Pau (OR).

Administration
Commune of Pau
Location
Coordinates	43°18′06″N, 00°22′07″W
Country	France
Région	Aquitaine
Département	Pyrénées-Atlantiques (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Chief town of 6 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de Pau Pyrénées
Mayor	Yves Urieta (2006-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	165 m–245 m (avg. 178 m)
Land area¹	31.51 km²
Population² (1999)	78,732
- Density (1999)	2,499/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	64445/ 64000
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).
Image:Flag of France.svg

Pau is a town of southwestern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département.

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1 Geography
2 History
3 Main sights
4 Economy
5 Transport
6 Miscellaneous
7 Grand Prix de Pau
8 Births
9 Twin towns
10 See also
11 External links

[edit] Geography

Pau was the capital of the former province of Béarn. The site, on a slight elevation overlooking the valley of the mountain river called the Gave de Pau, where it was crossed by a ford, controlled access to an easy passage into the Pyrenees, used annually for the seasonal pasturage of flocks of sheep in the high meadows (now represented by a hiking footpath GR65 that runs about 60 km south to the Spanish border). Access to the pass partly accounts for Pau's strategic importance.

[edit] History

The site was fortified by the 11th century— "pau" means "palissade" in Occitan— the seat of the viscounts of Béarn. Pau was made the capital of Béarn in 1464. In the early 16th century the Château de Pau, made more habitable by Gaston Fébus, count of Foix, became the residence of the kings of Navarre, who were also counts of Béarn, and so it was the birthplace of Henry IV of France (1553–1610), though his mother, the redoubtable Jeanne d'Albret, had to cross the whole of France to ensure that her son was born at Pau. The baby's lips were moistened with the local wine and rubbed with garlic in his first moments. Charles XIV of Sweden was also born at the château, in 1763. The château now is considered a French historical monument and contains a nice collection of tapestry.

When Henri IV left Pau to become King of France, he remarked to the local notables that he was not giving Béarn to France, he was giving France to Béarn. The English discovered the charms of Pau and its climate and left a decided imprint, before the French themselves did, partly because Wellington left a garrison at Pau on his way into Spain. The vacationing British, arriving before the railroad did, established the scenic promenade, the Boulevard des Pyrenées, the first full 18-hole golf course in Europe (laid out in 1856/1860, and still in existence), and a real tennis court (since converted into a trinquet).

Napoleon III refurbished the château, while Pau added streets of Belle Époque architecture, before fashion transferred to Biarritz. Pau is still a major centre for winter sports and for equestrian events, with a famous steeplechase.

[edit] Main sights

In the center of Pau there is a magnificent castle, le château de Pau that dominates the château quarter of the city. It is famous for being the birthplace of the 15th century king of France Henri IV and used to be used by Napoleon as a holiday home during his period of power. It has a small garden that was tended by Marie Antoinette when she spent much of the summers in the city. Tours are available daily except holidays and last apporimately an hour to an hour and a quarter (they are conducted exclusively in French but there are information sheets in English and other major languages).

There is an excellent wikipedia article on the Château de Pau (French language)

The other must see attraction is the Boulevard de Pyrenees. A walk of only about three-quarters of a kilometer or so from the château to the Parc du Beaumont and the royal Beaumont Park it has magnificent views of the mountains in the Pyrenees mountain range. Taking a stroll along the elevated path, be sure to look at the iron hand-rails for the plaques that tell you which mountain is directly infront of you and how high it is.

From the Boulevard de Pyrenees there is a (newly refurbished) funicular railway that takes you from the top of the boulevard to the bottom beside the train station.

When you arrive in Pau the tourist information office is well funded and can be found attached to the town hall in Place Royale

[edit] Economy

From the 1950s to the 1990s Pau depended on the production of natural gas and sulphur dioxide which were discovered nearby at Lacq. Today the mainstays of the Béarn area are the oil business, the aerospace industry (Turbomeca), tourism and agriculture. Pau was the birthplace of Elf Aquitaine, which has now become a part of Total.

[edit] Transport

Pau has an airport, Pau Pyrénées Airport, which is about 10 km away from the centre. The A64 motorway runs across Pau. The Spanish border is about 60 km away from Pau.

[edit] Miscellaneous

The Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (founded in 1972) is also in the town.

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[edit] Grand Prix de Pau

Pau holds the honor of arranging the first race ever to be called a Grand Prix in 1901. After that the 1928 French Grand Prix was held in nearby St Gaudens, Pau also wanted to arrange the race and in 1930 the French Grand Prix was held on a Le Mans type track outside the city with Philippe Étancelin winning for Bugatti. Pau was back in the race calendar in 1933, now with a Monaco inspired track in the city center.

The track, which is 2.769km in length, is one of the most curious and twisty in the GP history and has remained more or less unchanged into the 1990s. The first curve is the sharp station hairpin. After that the road climbs on the Avenue Léon Say, alongside the stone viaduct that carries the Boulevard de Pyrenées, to Pont Oscar. A tunnel is followed by the narrow hairpin at the school that leads the track into the demanding Parc Beaumont section at the top of the town. After visiting the Casino garden and passing yet another hairpin, the Virage the Buisson, the track winds its way back to the startline along the Avenue Lacoste.

Pau was traditionally the season opener but selecting mid February as the date for the 1933 GP was to challenge the fate and the race took place in a snowstorm with sludge making the conditions into one of the worst ever in racing history. After a one year pause the race was back in 1935 with Tazio Nuvolari dominating for Ferrari. The 1936 race saw the only major victory for the Maserati V8-R1, driven by Ètancelin. In 1937 the race was part of the French sports car series with Jean-Pierre Wimille dominating, running three to four seconds a lap faster than the rest of the field. GP racing was back in 1938 and Pau became a test track for Mercedes-Benz before the Grandes Epreuves.

The 1938 race saw René Dreyfus' Delahaye sensationally beating the Mercedes-Benz team. In 1939 Mercedes wasn't to be taken by surprise, Hermann Lang leading the team to a double victory. After the war Pau continued as a non-championship Formula 1 race until 1963. Thereafter the race was run to Formula 2 rules until the sport was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985. In 1999, the event again changed, with Formula Three cars racing.