G+N

Meet The Chateau de Franqueville
A distinguished mountaineer and botanist, originally from Normandy, Count Albert Belhomme de Franqueville settled in the Château de Bizanos on February 6, 1854. The benefits of the Béarn climate, praised at the time, as well as his passion for the Pyrenean peaks, motivated this choice. He participated in the first ascent of Néthou, known by its Spanish name of Pic d'Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees.
Count Albert Belhomme de Franqueville, born on October 16, 1814, in Normandy, moved to the Château de Bizanos on February 6, 1854.
The location perfectly matched the Count's aspirations. A wooded east-west slope overlooks the Gave de Pau valley to the south and the Ousse valley, the birthplace of Bizanos, to the north. A flat area at its summit, a beautiful meadow at the foot of the Château, offers breathtaking views of the majestic Pyrenees mountain range. A magnificent chestnut grove, the "Casta," crossed by the legendary Henri IV Trail, occupies a large part of the estate. A dwelling with large bay windows overlooks this property.
This building underwent a series of successful and successful metamorphoses, abandoning its martial, feudal castle appearance to gradually and happily adopt a fine classical style.
The previous lords of Bizanos were the masterminds of this transformation. We can cite Jacob Du Vignau and his son Henri Louis, who also owned two mills, synonymous with bread, in the Ousse valley; closer to home, the Bertrand d'Abbadie family, the latter President of the Parliament of Navarre, who initiated the establishment of the Lord's important paper mill on the Baniu, or Canal des Moulins, serving Pau and the port of Bayonne, the first industrial event in Bizanos. Laurent, one of the sons of this illustrious family, carried out the final renovation of the castle in 1851.






