Henri d'Albret, benefactor of the royal estate of Nérac (1503–1555)
Sovereign of the small kingdom of Lower Navarre, Henri d'Albret, through his marriage toMarguerite d'Angoulêmeand the founding of the royal domain, brought Nérac into the most brilliant period of its history.
Son of Jean d'Albret and Catherine de Foix, Henri d'Albret became King of Navarre in 1517. In 1525, following the famous Battle of Pavia, he was taken prisoner by the troops of Charles V along with the King of France, FrancisI, but managed to escape. The prestige of this escape enabled him to marryMarguerite d'Angoulême, sister of FrancisI and one of the most influential figures at the French court, in 1527.
For Henri d'Albret, becoming a relative of the King of France was an opportunity to fulfill his dearest wish: to recover Spanish Navarre, lost since 1512 when Ferdinand of Aragon annexed it. It was a wasted effort, as this marriage never brought him the French assistance he needed for his reconquest.
In Nérac, on the grounds of his seigneurial castle, Henri d'Albret acquired the land on the left bank of the Baïse River in 1529 to build a walled pleasure garden where his wifeMarguerite d'Angoulêmeloved to stroll.
The gardens were accessed from the castle via a covered staircase in the east wing, then via a terrace at the foot of the ramparts lined with cypress trees, and finally via a grove of elm trees.
There was also a tortuguère, a turtle farm where turtles were raised for consumption or medicine, as turtles were renowned at the time for their culinary and medicinal properties.
Finally, visitors entered this French-style pleasure garden, which featured two paths ideal for strolling but also for playing mail, the ancestor of golf and cricket. At the intersection of the two paths stood the Griffon fountain, decorated with marble statues of cows, the emblem of the House of Béarn. Remains can still be seen near the Pont Neuf on the left bank.
Also in the King's Gardens, a two-story octagonal tower, the Pavillon des Bains du Roy, may have been built in the early16thcentury under Henri d'Albret.
According to local tradition, the ladies of the court would come here to undress and bathe in the Baïse River, a practice that is open to debate. It is more likely that the Pavilion was initially a defensive building, given the thickness of its walls and its integration into a rampart, and later became a place of rest where snacks were served, due to its relative distance from the castle and the garden.
Today, its location is home to a Renaissance-style garden, created in 2009, which represents approximately1/10thof the16th-centurygardens.
According to local tradition, Henri d'Albret commissioned two monuments installed in the16thcentury along the avenue of elm trees:
At the end of the driveway, Henri d'Albret had the Fontaine des Poupettes built, a discreet place where he would meet his mistress Marianne d'Alespée. According to legend, the two pipes that carried the water flowed from two molded breasts, modeled on those of his favorite. The Gascon name for the fountain, "de las Poupetos," means "fountain of small breasts." Its remains were transferred to La Garenne in the 1980s.
Traditionally attributed to Henri d'Albret, the commission for these two monuments is contradicted by the accounts of the Nérac garden, which mention their payment to the architect Hervé Boulard in 1580. However, Henri d'Albret died in 1555. Their real patron remains a mystery...
On the right bank of the Baïse River, Henri d'Albret established a warren in the late 1510s. This was a reserve where wood, fish, and game were protected and where only the owner, in this case the Lord of Albret, had the privilege of hunting.
Subsequent developments were carried out by his successors: Antoine de Bourbon enlarged it by expropriation, extending the Garenne du Petit Nérac to the Saint-Jean fountain, then Marguerite de Valois extended it with the 3,000-step alley to the village of Nazareth.
Henri d'Albret is also credited with the birth of his grandsonHenri IVat the Château de Pau. The King of Navarre, fearing for his lineage after losing a son and two grandsons, insisted that his daughterJeanne d'Albretgive birth in Pau, which offered more amenities for the anticipated event.
Above all, Henri d'Albret wanted to be the sole master on board and leave a supporting role to his son-in-law Antoine de Bourbon, as clearly shown in the painting opposite, which can be admired at the Château-Musée Henri IV in Nérac.
Unfortunately, he did not have time to pass on the secrets of power to his grandson, dying two years later in 1555.
