The Chateau d’Arcangues is located in the heart of the French Basque Country, a few miles from Biarritz and close to the Atlantic coast and the Spanish border.
In 1150 the Lord of Arcangues and Curutcheta build his first house and gave his name to the village. Since then, the d’Arcangues family has been living on the same location until today.
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The actual chateau is the fourth one and was rebuilt in 1900. The previous one had been destroyed by the Spanish armies in 1636 during the 30 Years War.
PIERRE d’ARCANGUES (1886-1973)
The 7th Marquis d’Iranda. Mayor of the village Arcangues from 1929 to 1969, he invited artisans to participate in the renovation and embellishement of the village center. Schools were built in 1959, the outdoor theater in 1968, buildings to house non-profit organizations, renovation of the City Hall and the church's belltower. President of the Tourism and Festival comittee in Biarritz, he regularly organized prestigious soirées and balls featuring celebrities including the « Années Folles », « Bal Goya », « Bal Second Empire (1922)», « Bal Petrouchka », « Bal de la Planète Mars », and in 1949 with Jean Cocteau le « Festival du Film Maudit ». Author, poet, lecturer, he wrote more than 20 books, pamphlets, essays, plays and musical comedies : « La Folle Tournée » (1924), « Le Prince et le Tailleur » , « Le Retour de l’Ambassadeur », « L’Impératrice de Chine est malade », « L’Ecole des Gigolos » , « La Chemise du Grand-Duc », « Shorlekoua », « En Californie, les Américains ont-ils des Ailes ? », poetry : « Les Lauriers sur les Tombes », « Le Grain de Sénevé », « Le Chant des Sources », «Quand il reviendra », « Tendresse », « Sept Poèmes sur le Pays basque », « A Pieds Joints », war memories: « La Côte 304 » (1966), « Un Mois au Fort du Hâ », travels :" Terres de Soleil et de Mystère », poetry in prose : « Les Chansons de Kaddour » (1964), « Le Vieillard et la Rose » (1972), history : « Rois en Vacances à Biarritz » (1947), « Le Destin de l’Espagne» (1938).
GUY d’ARCANGUES (1924-2004)
The 8th Marquis d’Iranda. Second of four children, (his older brother Michel died in 1946), he followed in his father's footsteps and also had a disposition for poetry, literature and all that is artistic. Journalist for Paris-Match, Vogue, Adam and Jours de France in the sixties, he was also an excellent golfer : Capitain of the French Amateur golf team from 1960 to 1965, 14 times Champion de France, winner of numerous prizes and international comptitions. Artistic Director of the Casinos of Biarritz from 1950-1954, President of the Tourism and Festival comittee in Biarritz from 1971 to 1977, he launched tourism in the village of Arcangues by inviting famous movie stars like Frank Sinatra. He published several books, mostly poetry, for which he won several prestigious rewards, among them the"Prix de l’Académie Française" : « 17 Poèmes à la Craie de Lune » (1954), «Eugénia », « Le Cheval Andalou », « Madame Petit Soldat », « Châteaux de Plâtre », « Dialogue », « Le Jardin à la Française », « La Nuit Princesse ». He left a novel inspired by his inprisonment in Poland during the Second World War : « Le Silésien » 1968), a radio play, « Le Héros », a book of aphorisms : « Pollens-Mémoire », a book of journalistic anecdotes: «L’Opportuniste », onirical tales: « Les Feux de la Saint-Jean ». « Les Tambours de Septembre », two stories about the period of the German occupation of the Basque country during the Second World War, have been published after his death.
