A brief history of Navarre

The Domaine de Beterguibel is situated just 3 minutes from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the capital of the « Basse Navarre » (Lower Navarre)


The « Basse Navarre » is one of the seven traditional provinces (Zazpiak Bat) of the Pays Basque (Euskal Herria)

The Kingdom of Navarre

(Nafarroako Erresuma (basque)or Royaume de Navarre (french)),
Originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean.


The kingdom of Navarre was formed when local Basque leader Eneko Arista was declared King in Pamplona (traditionally in 824) and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority.


The southern part of the kingdom was absorbed by the Crown of Castille in 1513, and thus became part of the unified Kingdom of Spain. The northern part of the kingdom (Lower navarre) remained independent, but it was joined with France in a personal union in 1589 when King Henry III of Navarre inherited the French throne as Henry IV of France.


In 1620 , Lower Navarre and Béarn were incorporated into France proper by Henry's son, Louis XIII of France.