The name Navarrenx comes from sponda Navarrensi, meaning the "bedstead of Navarre" or "House of the Navarreses". According to linguist Michel Grosclaude it may have meant the edge of the Navarre. There may be kinship between the Basque radical Navarre and Navarrenx, but Basque philologists hesitate to link the several etymologies. The first written mention of the name of the city lies in a charter of 1078. Navarrenx is mentioned five times.
History
The earliest history of the site dates to the first century. Navarrenx is reported in a cartulary of the eleventh century under the name of Sponda-Navarrensis. There was a long-standing agreement between Centulle V, Viscount of Béarn, and Oloron and his vassal Raymond-William, Viscount of Soule. They came to Navarrenx to repair the harm done to the Béarnais by the Souletins. It may make reason and justice on oath, either by paying a fine or by ordeal. In this case, the text says that the duel happened, not on the bank of the Gave the side of the Soule, but the shore-side Navarrenx. The place is still known today as the camp batalha. In 1188, Gaston VI called for a charter of a "Bridge of Navarrenx" a stone bridge, and the establishment of a market, and a perimeter "sauveté" on the hill to the west, at the confluence of the Gave d’Oloron and L’Arroder Rivers. In 1523, the Castilians led by Philibert of Chalon, Prince of Orange, seized the city and destroyed the Casterasse. Henry II of Albret, the king of Navarre, decided to reinforce defences on the right bank of the mountain stream of Oloron. From 1538 to 1546, fortification works were carried out under the direction of Béarn master builders François Girard and Arnaud de Mirassor, as per the design of Italian architectural engineer Fabricio Siciliano. Navarrenx was thus transformed into a modern fortified town "Italian-style", based on the citadel of Lucca in Tuscany. Later, a powder magazine would be built that would store up to of gunpowder: a square-shaped construction little more than long, it was originally surrounded by a wall, part of which was visible aboveground. While this wall has since disappeared, the thickness of this wall and the lowness of the building prevented it from receiving direct hits from enemy forces. The fortifications were tried and tested during religious wars under the reign of Jeanne of Albret, when the garrison under the command of the Baron of Arros successfully resisted a three-month siege in 1568. The town was re-equipped in the 18th century, in particular with the Saint-Antoine gate built by engineer De Salmon on the ruins of an old church. Facing Spain, the gate owed its name to a chapel that welcomed pilgrims and was destroyed during the construction of the ramparts. With three massive arcades, the town was accessed via a drawbridge, the passage of the chains of which can still be seen today. In the 19th century, work on road and rail infrastructure led to the destruction of the old Saint-Germain gate which faced France. Over the centuries, the fortified wall of Navarrenx has retained its main features. It outlines a reinforced firing range at each of its five corners with a bastion. Two of the five are fitted with anti-mine galleries, while a glacis and ground structures reinforce the town to the east, ahead of the moat. Several barracks have been built inside the walls to house the garrison, one of which nowadays is used as the tourist information office. From the top of the ramparts, there is a pleasant view of the Pyrenees and, below, the arches of the bridge of Navarrenx. Visits There is free access to the 1818-metre perimeter of the town. The walls of the city contain bilingual descriptive plaques that trace the history of each structure. Information on guided visits can be obtained from the Navarrenx district tourist office.
