The Fishing Village of Bearriz
The town’s first settlers are believed to have been Vikings,
who discovered the area during their invasion of Gascony in 840 AD.
Settling in the area above the Gardague Beach, the Scandinavians were
undoubtedly attracted to the coastal location and its ample whaling
opportunities.
Throughout the Middle Ages this isolated village relied completely
on fishing, especially whaling, with the port ideally situated in a
cove that protected it from the open seas. The long gently sloping beaches
provided a perfect pad upon which to beach their whales at high tide,
and then when the sea receded, the local people would be found on the
beaches stripping down freshly harpooned whales for a variety of uses.
While the whale meat would be eaten, all parts of the whale were used
including the whale oil for lamps and bones for fencing. The whale played
a huge role in the early prosperity of the village but its economy declined
as the whale numbers dwindled and the remaining whales moved to the
frozen north. Less sophisticated beginnings stamp the history of the
now popular seaside resort of Biarritz.
The Healing Waters of Biarritz
Biarrots had enjoyed the pleasures of ocean bathing long before it
became popularised in later centuries. In 1609, the Royal Councillor
de Lancre commented that he was shocked to observe “a mix of ladies
and young fishermen, whom one sees at the coast in “mandille”,
and very naked below, mixing in the waves". Not a surprising attitude
from a man who would become the Labourd province’s premier witch
hunter, burning 600 women in a four month period!
Despite the local’s affinity for the ocean, in 1774 the council
refused to set up “guérites” for the bathers to change,
even though at this time doctors recognized sea bathing as an efficient
therapy for all sorts of ills. Doctors said that the seas of Biarritz
had phenomenal and thought-provoking medicinal and healing powers, stimulating
the senses of the patient and in many cases curing their illness. As
a result, many thousands of people made pilgrimages to the town with
a multitude of different ailments they hoped the waters could cure.
Eventually council officials had to change their stance and condone
the practise…
The eldest daughter of Louis XVI, the duchess of Angouleme, enthusiastic
about the little fishing port, compared it to " a piece of diamond
only waiting for the lapidary's chisel to make it shine and famous to
the whole world ". The first sea thermal baths drew in great numbers
of seawater therapy followers, and with it came the love of the ocean
and the first tourists.
In the nineteenth century the vogue for sea bathing increased. After
discovering nature and a taste for travelling and bathing in the sea,
many writers spoke highly of the beauty of Biarritz. Flaubert and Victor
Hugo were very enthusiastic, with Hugo charmed by this "white village
with red roofs and green shutters, set among the grassy hills ".
He immediately anticipated that "Biarritz would become fashionable".
His description of the village as " a shore the sky fills with
azure, sun, light and shadow, the sea with foam and the wind with sound" is
just as apt today.
Much later, the French actor, director, screenwriter and playwright,
Sacha Guitry also proclaimed: “When one hesitates between two
beaches, one of them is always Biarritz”.
The Beach of Kings
The Carlist Wars brought the Spanish in search of a quiet holiday resort
away from the terrors of their homeland. In 1835, a nine-year old girl
and her mother, the Countess de Montijo, spent their summer enjoying
the freedom and beauty of the Basque coast. This girl, Eugénie,
permanently impressed by her holidays in Biarritz, would later leave
her permanent impression on Biarritz. This is the Biarritz that she
has bequeathed to us today.
In 1852, Eugénie met the Prince-President, who the following
year became Napoléon III. After becoming Empress of the French
in 1854, Eugénie persuaded her husband to accompany her to Biarritz
for a two-month stay. Welcomed by a cheering crowd, the imperial couple
chose Château de Grammont, which belonged to the Mayor of Bayonne,
as their residence. This date, 21 July 1854, would undoubtedly be considered
the launch of the resort which very quickly became the place of sophisticated,
carefree living. All the crowned heads, princes and wealthy aristocrats
of Europe followed in the imperials wake.
As Grammont was too small for an imperial court, Napoléon III
bought a stunning piece of land overlooking the ocean and in just 10
months a summer palace, dubbed “La Villa Eugénie”,
was built. They spent their summers here for 16 years, with the Emperor
organising the building of roads, embankments, baths and enhancements
to the village. A casino, hotels and villas were also constructed.
The local Biarrots watched in amazement as their once sleepy town welcomed
Queen Isabelle of Spain; the Kings of Würtenberg, Belgium and Portugal;
Princes from Russia, Poland, Romania and Bavaria; famous writers such
as Prosper Mérimée and Octave Feuillet; and even the Iron
Chancellor, von Bismarck and Princess Orloff.
Feasts, balls, bathing parties, countryside picnics, sea cruises, fireworks,
evening receptions, diplomatic intrigue and gambling evenings followed
one another at an incredible speed! The new darling of resorts hosted
10,000 holidaymakers each season.
By the fall of the Empire in 1870 Biarritz’s success was consolidated
and the parties continued. “La Belle Époque” was
as glamorous as ever with a new set of royalty: Queen Victoria; Edward
VII; Kings and Queens from Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hanover; the
great dukes of Russia; the Spanish and French aristocracy; and then
North and South American millionaires thronged to Biarritz, followed
by anonymous crowds…
Biarritz, the “beach of kings” had become the “queen
of beaches”.
The Queen of Beaches
By the late nineteenth century, the town had developed around Eugénie’s
palace, reflecting the varied, flamboyant styles of the aristocratic
property owners. It was as though the summer residents chose Biarritz
as the place to live and build their dream. There were no rules of conformity
to follow, just the creations of the imagination! Biarritz was a haven
where dreams could come true… The eclectic architecture that
remains for us today is a wonderful testament to those dreams.
In 1880, La Villa Eugénie was bought by the Banque Parisienne
and
converted into a casino. In 1893 it became l’Hôtel du Palais
and remains the queen of Biarritz’s hotels to this day. Sadi Carnot,
Poincaré, Clémenceau, Jules Ferry, Alexandre Dumas and
Zola met each other along the beaches. The English aristocrats, whose
ancestors had discovered the place at the beginning of the century during
the Napoleonic wars, came here in the wake of Edward VII. It was the
English who gave Biarritz its first golf course, the Golf du Phare,
and its first horseriding competitions.
At the turn of the century, the brand new Casino Municipal and the
Casino Bellevue attracted stars from the entertainment world, as well
as big-time gamblers. Sarah Bernhardt and Lucien Guitry, father of Sacha,
entertained there. Once the show was over they danced all night. The
distinguished society of the previous century was replaced by the wild
nights of the new Parisian night owls.
During the First World War, like all hotels in the region, the Palais
was converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers. After the war, Biarritz
soon reclaimed its social status thanks to the sumptuous parties given
by the Marquis de Cuevas. Royalty such as the Farouk of Egypt, Michael
of Roumania, and Peter of Yugoslavia still visited, but slowly they
were being replaced by a new, and more diverse crowd from the arts and
literature, fashion and finance worlds. Over the next 20 years, new
Biarritz enthusiasts such as Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Gary Cooper,
Bing Crosby. Sacha Guitry, Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Ernest
Hemingway and Igor Stravinsky shared dinners, parties and gambling tables.
Once again, the party in Biarritz fell silent with the arrival of the
Second World War. The parasols and lifeguards disappeared from the beaches
to be replaced with military clothes and boots, as the soldiers cleansed
themselves in the healing waters.
It was not until the 1950’s that Biarritz again experienced a
resurgence in popularity as the visitors returned to celebrate all that
was good in life. The town was reborn with the arrival of the duke and
duchess of Windsor. Fancy dress balls, society dinners, evening receptions,
golf competitions, the legendary couple was present at all gatherings:
frivolities and elegance had become fashionable again.
The Birth of European Surfing
A defining new chapter in Biarritz’s modern history began in
1957 when Peter Viertel, an American film producer, was in Biarritz
to make a movie of Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises”.
Admiring the perfect swell lines forming off the town beach, Viertel
immediately sent to California for his board and in the process changed
the history of the resort town.
After Viertel’s discovery, surfers were quick to scout out the
many surfable waves around Biarritz: from the mouth of the Gironde river
to south of the Landes region. Fifty years on, surfing is such a part
of the local culture that the words surfing and Biarritz are now almost
synonymous.
As the European capital of surf, Biarritz now attracts the royalty
of the surfing world. Vibrant, relaxed and yet maintaining her air of
chic elegance, she is indeed a grand old dame who has been able to adapt
effortlessly to embrace the culture of modern times.
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