Biarritz
Biarritz is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxurious seaside tourist destination known for the Hôtel du Palais, its seafront casinos, and its surfing culture.
Geography
Biarritz is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is part of the arrondissement of Bayonne, adjacent to Bayonne and Anglet and from the border with Spain. The city is also in the traditional province of Labourd in the French Basque Country.Climate
Biarritz has a temperate oceanic climate, Cfb in the Köppen climate classification. It is one of the wettest cities in Metropolitan France.Etymology
In Basque, its name is Biarritz or Miarritze. Its current Gascon name is Biàrrits. The name for an inhabitant of the city is Biarrot in French and Biarriztar or Miarriztar in Basque. The suffix -itz, as in Isturitz, is a Basque locative.Biarritz appears as Bearids and Bearriz in 1150, Beiarridz in 1165, Bearriz and Beariz in 1170, Bearidz, Bearriz and Beariz, lo port de Beiarriz and Bearridz in 1261. Other forms include Beiarid, Bearritz, Beiarriz and Beiarrids, Bearridz, Bearrits,, Bearritz, Sanctus Martinus de Biarriz, Biarrits, as well as Biarritze and Miarritze.
History
Prehistory
Analysis of stones from the Middle Paleolithic shows that the Biarritz area was inhabited at that time.Middle Ages
The oldest mention of the city appears in a cartulary, Bayonne's Golden book, from 1186, where it is named Bearids; some years later the name used was Beiarrids. The first urban development was to the south, at the top, and at the interior. Today this is near the location of the église Saint-Martin, the oldest church in Biarritz.In 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England, who became suzerain of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Prince Edward, the oldest son of Henry III of England, was invested with the duchy and betrothed to Eleanor of Castile, who brought him rights over Gascony.
Two population centers are attested in the Middle Ages. On the one hand, the église Saint-Martin was active in the neighborhoods in the territory's interior, which were:
On the other hand, the château of Belay, also called château de Ferragus, protected the coast and the current Port-Vieux, while religious life and community assemblies took place at Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, dominating the Port-des-Pêcheurs, or fishing port.
A document dated May 26, 1342, attested to this fishing activity, authorising les Biarrots to " remit to Bayonne all the fresh fish that we and succeeding inhabitants of Biarritz can fish from the salt sea".
Construction of the château de Ferragus was initiated by the English, on the foundations of a Roman work, at the summit of the promontory overlooking the sea, named Atalaye, used as a whale-observation post. This château had a double crenulated wall two meters thick, a drawbridge and four towers. Mentions of this château occur as late as 1603, in the letters patent of Henry IV. One tower remained as of 1739 when a daymark was established there, called de la Haille, then de la Humade. The tower disappeared in 1856.
Whaling
Most of the documents, records and official agreements gathered in the archives from Biarritz mention whaling. This was the principal local industry. Consequently, the town's coat of arms features the image of a whale below a rowing boat manned by five sailors wearing berets, one of whom is preparing to throw a harpoon. It bears the inscription: Aura, sidus, mare, adjuvant me.Biarritz has long made its living from the sea. After the 7th century, Biarritz had many confrontations with Bayonne, with the Kingdom of England – Lapurdi was under English control – and with the Bishop of Bayonne. Almost all of the disputes were about whale hunting. In 1284, the town's right to hunt whales was reinstated by the authorities of Lapurdi and the Duchy of Aquitaine.
During the Middle Ages and early modern period, a watchtower looked down over the sea at Biarritz, from "La Humade", waiting for the sight of a whale. Whenever those keeping watch saw a whale, they would burn wet straw to create a large amount of smoke and thus communicate the news to their fellow countrymen. Eventually, however, the tower disappeared.
In the 16th century, as a consequence of hunting in the area, or for other reasons, the whales migrated elsewhere. Whale hunters from Lapurdi, therefore, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in pursuit of them and spent over a century in the Labrador Peninsula and on Newfoundland. Later, instead of hunting whales, they started to fish for cod in Newfoundland. A century later, due to the ban on fishing off the coasts of North America and the steely competence of English and Dutch fishermen, the number of fishing boats from Biarritz diminished, and nowadays the Biarritz fishing industry in these areas has come to an end.
The first lighthouse in the village was built in 1650.
18th century
Biarritz was an independent municipality until 1784 with a clergyman and four aldermen, and the city was governed by twelve deputies. Deputies were democratically chosen: there were four districts, and three deputies had to be chosen from each of them. However, deputies were chosen by the abbot and aldermen. Since there was no Town Hall, they gathered in a ward near the church. As there was not enough space for all in attendance, they held their meetings in the cemetery. Biarritz had around 1,700 citizens at this time.In the 18th century, doctors claimed that the ocean at Biarritz had therapeutic properties, inspiring patients to make pilgrimages to the beach for alleged cures for their ailments. The city began to transition into a world-famous spa town in the mid-1700s.
19th century
From 1784 onwards, after the French Revolution, bathing in the sea was no longer reserved for the mentally ill; sea-baths became fashionable. In 1808, Napoleon himself broke with prejudices and bathed in the Basque Country's coastal waters. In 1840, the Municipality of Biarritz started an initiative to attract tourists to the seaside.Victor Hugo, who visited in 1843, wrote glowingly of Biarritz in his book Alpes et Pyrénées:
For good or for ill, Hugo's prophecy was fulfilled. Biarritz planted poplars, tamarinds, hydrangeas, roses and pittosporums on the slopes and the hills, set railings on the dunes, covered moats with elegant stairs and polluted with land speculation and hunger for money.
Tourists have long been drawn to Biarritz's coast, from the beach at the limit of Bidarte, to the cape of Saint Martin. There a tall white lighthouse can be found, constructed in 1834 to replace the one Louis XIV had ordered built. Various hotels appeared, as did a municipal casino, the Belleuve club, the casino, the thalassotherapy house, and wonderful luxury houses. Luxurious branches of shops from London and Paris were also set up, and 36 small newspapers were published.
Biarritz gained renown in 1854 when Empress Eugenie built a palace on the beach. European royalty, including British monarchs Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, and the Spanish king Alfonso XIII, were frequent visitors.
Biarritz's casino and beaches make the town a notable tourist centre for Europeans and East Coast North Americans.
Opened in June 1893, Biarritz's salt baths were designed and built by the architect Lagarde. Sourced from the gatzagas of Beskoitz and passing through a pipe, water ten times saltier than the sea was used. The baths were closed in 1953 and demolished in 1968.
The presence of the French Republic's authorities and the launch of the Paris–Hendaye train led Biarritz to become one of the most outstanding tourist areas in Europe. The queen of the beaches became the beach of the kings and queens: Oscar II of Sweden, Leopold of Belgium, empress of Russia Maria Feodorovna, mother of Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Natalie of Serbia and her son Alexander I of Serbia, George V from Britain, Edward VII and Britain's Queen Victoria, Alfonso XIII of Spain, as well aristocrats, rich people and actors from Europe and South America. In the summer, people of high status gathered in Biarritz. The population thereby increased considerably, from 5,000 to 18,000. At the end of the 19th century, 50,000 vacationers were gathering in Biarritz.