| Page Views: 876 Last Visit to Nay: 2006 | The village of Nay, world capital of “le béret” by kokoryko - last update: Feb 2, 2007 |
A contribution to the béret. | Celebrities in the béret musum |
Yes of course everybody knows the béret, this headgear immortalised by R. Doisneau, R. Cartier Bresson and so many more, the cap everybody has seen and heard about, knows, but few know where it comes from, what is its history, where is the cradle of the famous béret, what it is made of, how it is manufactured, etc, etc.
We all know about the military bérets, their different colours, shapes, know about the basque béret, the French béret, this fashion element, this small piece of wool able to change a face or a silhouette,. . . . . but the béret, as I learned recently (may be from chauvinist people) is a Pyrenean headgear!
Seriously, the cradle of the béret is the Ossau Valley (High Bearn), as historic and ethnographic research tends to demonstrate and here is a little contribution to the village of Nay, located about halfway between Pau and Lourdes, where you may find the only museum in the world dedicated to the béret!
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| Village of Nay, seen from the bridge over the Gave |
|  | This bastide (village build around a square shaped place, the houses having generally arcades) was built in the beginning 14th century; very few is known about its history, as it has suffered from a fire which destroyed it totally and then from religion wars.
This small city located on the banks of the Gave de Pau benefited from hydraulic energy to develop textile industry in the 19th century, and, with the industrial decline in the mid 20th century, only few factories, including of course the béret factory, survived.
Today, the factory still works and a museum dedicated to the béret has been created in its vicinity. |
| Bastide: arcades on the main square; |
| | I had to put this page somewhere, so I put it on Nay, but for explanatory purposes, we have to make a few short jumps into other Bearnese villages, where we will look at some evidences supporting the history of the béret.
If you know Tintin, the Belgian cartoon character from Hergé, you will (like me) laugh when you learn that a Dupont & Dupond textile factory has existed here in Nay! |
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| Pros: | "Small quiet village, as I like them" | | Cons: | "nothing special" | | In A Nutshell: | "The museum is "exotic"" |
kokoryko's Nay Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 11 - Photos: 50 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 Comments for kokoryko about Nay | | | | |
lynnehamman Wed May 27, 2009 00:11 UTC
Interesting, detailed tips here, Hermann- Love the architecture (albeit a bit eclectic) of the Maison Carrée - and SO interesting the history of the beret! Great photos. | Bwana_Brown Fri Feb 8, 2008 02:56 UTC
It was very interesting to learn all about the history of berets!! Excellent tips on not only this world famous headgear but also beautiful photos of the region it came from - especially those beaut pics of Gave de Pau!! | Nemorino Sun May 13, 2007 19:48 UTC
Another fascinating page with detailed tips and brilliant photos! Glad to hear the beret factory has survived and is still producing. | iaint Mon Mar 12, 2007 22:55 UTC
I was there in '72; parents (both 80 something) still talk about it |
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