Nothing is lost... everything is transformed!
An evocation of the beginnings of the Reformation in Béarn, on the places, or almost, where it was introduced.
Guided tour From the Deportation Square in Clemenceau, the city of Pau has been the scene of a turbulent history of Protestantism. Historian Claire Moutengou will tell you the story of this unique community in the historic centre of the city.
Between 1571 and 1617, with the arrival of Protestantism as a state religion and the return of Catholicism, Béarn experienced profound religious upheavals. These changes have had multiple implications for the population (who have been given a new denomination), for government (with discussions on the monarch square and the sovereignty of the Bearn, who is living his last hours), for language and for the urban landscape. Nothing is lost, everything is transformed. The buildings of worship and the fabulous riches of the Catholic Church, amassed over centuries, are inventoried, quantified and then reassigned, at the risk of raising disputes. The religious reconquest is then read in the evolution of the city, which rapidly changes physiognomy. Some of these transformations are still visible today in the heart of the city, and are witnesses of an important page in our history to rediscover!