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Origin and history

Hotel Saint-Martin-d'Agès is a mansion built in the first half of the seventeenth century in Dax, in the Landes. Its entrance gate, dated 1616, probably marks the year of its construction. Located in a district where several private hotels were concentrated from the 16th century, it owes its name to Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Martin (1633-c.1675), lady of Rostaing and Agès, who owned it in the second half of the 17th century. This area was popular for its proximity to the former courthouse and town hall of Dax.

The hotel welcomed prominent figures in French history, including Mazarin and Queen Anne of Austria, during their journeys related to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 and the marriage of Louis XIV in 1660 to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. These events underline the strategic and social importance of Dax at that time. The building, which underwent partial reconstructions in the eighteenth century, still retains original elements such as half-crosses and openings on the east facade.

Over the centuries, the hotel has changed hands several times. In 1686 he moved to Bachelier's family through the marriage of Suzanne de Biaudos, daughter of Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Martin, with Pierre de Bachelier, director of the royal farms. This family's weapons were added to the 19th century gate. In 1802, the hotel was transferred to the Le Quien de la Neufville family, then divided into two parts: the southern part, acquired by the city in 1962, housed the municipal museum until 1995, while the northern part became a private residence.

Architecturally, the hotel is distinguished by its central house body and its two wings in return for square, surrounding a small inner courtyard closed by a wall decorated with carved fire pots. The monumental gate, topped by a broken triangular pediment, is a remarkable element. Inside, woodwork and stucco testify to the refinement of the time. The gate and the entrance wall, inscribed in the historical monuments in 1983, are the only protected elements of this ensemble.

Today, the southern part of the hotel houses Dax Museum reserves and Borda Corporation offices, while the northern part remains a private dwelling. This monument illustrates the architectural and social evolution of a spa and judicial city, while preserving traces of its aristocratic past and its role in local and national history.

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