Musée Jeanne d'Albret in Orthez

Occupying a fifteenth-century house in Orthez's old town, the Musée Jeanne d'Albret traces Protestant history in Béarn and the Adour area. Its account centres on the Huguenot experience and on Jeanne d'Albret, her son Henri IV and her daughter Catherine de Bourbon.

A house with its own history

The building is part of the story. In 1555, Arnaud de Gachissans, who held the post of maître d'hôtel in the household of Jeanne d'Albret's father, gave the house to her in exchange for letters of nobility. It has been protected as a Monument historique since 1929.

The town of Orthez acquired the property in 1980. Part of it was then restored for use as a museum, which opened in 1995. The collections placed there were assembled by the Centre d'Étude du Protestantisme béarnais.

Protestantism in Béarn

The permanent exhibition follows a long regional chronology, beginning with the introduction of the Reformation in Béarn under Jeanne d'Albret and continuing into the early twentieth century. This gives the museum a broader scope than the life of one historical figure: it considers Protestant history across Béarn and the Adour area.

Jeanne d'Albret and her two children provide a central biographical thread. The displays also address the Wars of Religion and the later history of laïcité, or state secularism, in the region. Together, these subjects place individual lives within several centuries of religious and civic change.

Planning a visit

The museum is at 37 rue Bourg Vieux, 64300 Orthez, in the old town. Admission charges and visiting arrangements can change, so check current details with the museum before travelling.