Ilbarritz Castle

On top of Ilbarritz Hill, proud and haughty, ghostly at times when the weather is rough, stands the Castle of the Baron of l'Espée.

This music-loving and somewhat misanthropic character was one of the heirs of Wendel, Master of the Forges of Lorraine, which explains both his financial means and his love of technological progress.

In 1890, during a stay in Biarritz recommended by his British doctors, the Baron noticed the heath-covered promontory with its spectacular 360° view.

In 1893, Maître Blaise bought the 75 lots from their 30 proprietors for the sum of 350 000 Francs-or (the name given to the Franc of 1928, since it was exchangeable for gold), forming a domain of 60 hectares. Biarritz architect Gustave Huguenin, working with builder Moussempès, was commissioned to build the castle and its many original outbuildings : distant kitchens - so that cooking smells would not incommode the lord of the manor; cow house; kennels; medieval, hexagonal or Chinese summerhouses; covered galleries; grotto and wells and... an electric power station.

But the central piece was the 70-stop, 5000-pipe Cavaillé-Coll organ around which the palace was to be built. The first stone was laid in 1894; and as early as 1896 Albert de l'Espée was able to move in to the west kitchen building - the only remaining outbuilding, which is known today as the Blue Cargo on South Ilbarritz Beach - where quarters were reserved for him. This building already sported the Bidache stone, the Hungarian oak and the many-hued marble that were to grace the castle, completed in 1897. The organ was then installed and tuned in its two-story purpose-built hall. The west façade acted as a screen for the rest of the building and the balconies doubled as anchor points for the framework which supported 5 thickness of roofing (oak + zinc + vitrified sandstone + asbestos + flat tiles). Fire hydrants were also included, since the musician, lover of organs, Wagner and César Franck, declared, "the house which holds my organ must be indestructible !" One may observe that the first floor gallery of the organ hall recalls those found in Basque churches.

In 1898 he decided to sell the mansion, following an unhappy love affair. He returned in 1902 to play his organ one last time; it was later sold to Mutin and dismantled in 1903. It is now in the Sacred Heart of Montmartre in Paris.

In 1905 the building was removed from sale, and a new organ was ordered from Mutin : 3 keyboards plus accessories, including "Siegfried's blocked horn". The instrument was installed in 1907.

When in 1910 the building was again put on the market, it was bought by Mr. Gheusi, who founded a real estate company there. A public concert, held on Aril 10th 1912 drew a large audience of organ lovers.

Between 1917 and 1922, the castle was used as a hospital. Then began a slow fall into disrepair, accompanied by looting.

Between 1936 and 1939, the municipality of Bidart lodged Basque refugees from the Spanish Civil War there.

On June 20th 1940, the German army occupied the site. It then became a farm until 1958 when Mr. and Mrs. Massiaux bought the castle to transform it into a luxury hotel which was to welcome guests for 25 years.

Since 1990, the organ hall and the stairway have been included in the FrenchHistorical Monuments registry, but the building itself belongs to the "Chaîne Thermale du Soleil".

It can be seen from the "Ilbarritz" beach but visits are not permitted.