43°19N 0°25W, pop (2000e) 88 000. Economic centre and capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, SW France; on right bank of R Gave de Pau, 174 km/108 mi S of Bordeaux; former capital of Béarn province, 1464; health resort, winter sports centre; road and rail junction; engineering, textiles, brewing, tanning, tourism; natural gas nearby; birthplace of Henry IV of France, Charles XIV of Sweden; 12th15th-c castle, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Musée Bernadotte, Boulevard des Pyrénées.
| Commune of Pau | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 43°18′06″N, 00°22′07″W |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| 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 > | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. | |
Pau is a town of southwestern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département.
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.
Main sights
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Economy
From the 1950s to the 1990s Pau depended on the production of natural gas and sulphur dioxide which were discovered nearby at Lacq.
Transportation
Pau has an airport, Pau Pyrénées Airport, which is about 10 km away from the centre.
Pau Grand Prix
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.
Births
Pau was the birthplace of:
Jeanne d'Albret (1528–1572), Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572 Henry IV (1553–1610), king of France from 1589 to 1610 Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (1763–1844), Marshal of France and later King of Sweden and Norway André Courrèges (born 1923), fashion designer Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg (born 1943), politician Bertrand Cantat (born 1964), singer and songwriter Cedric Gracia (born 1978), mountain biker Charles Denis Bourbaki (1816–1897), French general of Greek descentTwin towns
Pau is twinned with:
Zaragoza, Spain, since 1970 Mobile, Alabama, United States, since 1975 Pistoia, Italy, since 1975 Kofu, Japan, since 1977 Setúbal, Portugal, since 1981 Swansea, Wales, since 1982 Göttingen, Germany, since 1983 Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire, since 1984 Xi'an, China, since 1986
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