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Origin and history

The Malbosc House, located in Auterive in the Saint Paul district, is a mansion built on the edge of the 16th and 17th centuries. It consists of a body of brick houses and wooden panels, as well as an outbuilding separated by a courtyard with well. The courtyard façade, typical of the architecture of the period, features half-timbered bricks and earth mortar. Inside, there are old fireplaces, a chapel, and rooms with evocative names such as the Parliament Hall or the Prisoners' Hall, testifying to its turbulent history.

The residence belongs first to the Montauts, coseigneurs d'Auterive, before being sold to the Dominicans, then acquired in 1361 by the Ysalguier family, rich Toulousean lineage anoblia in 1328. In 1532 it passed into the hands of the king of Navarre Henry II. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it changed several times from owners, including the Reséguier, before being bought back in 1944 by the Malbosc family. Recent work is aimed at restoring it and making it a cultural place.

The vaulted cellars house a basin evoking a possible Baptistery or Roman baths, while the dovecote overlooks the Saint Paul district. The house, classified as Historical Monument in 2022, illustrates the architectural and social evolution of Auterive, between seigneurial power, religious life and successive adaptations. Graffiti, like Jean du Saut's, and the modifications of the following centuries enrich his heritage.

Dendrochronological analyses confirm that the oldest elements (pathways, snout berries) date from the late 16th or early 17th century. The courtyard, accessible by a cochère door, retains a calade and a central well. A wooden gallery connects the house to its dependence, stressing the unity of the whole despite its construction in two phases, visible via a break in the masonry.

Originally, part of the house where the house stands belonged to the Ysalguiers, who had acquired Dominicans in 1361. Although historical records mention an ostel in 1458, its exact connection to Malbosc House remains uncertain. Subsequent transformations, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, have altered the openings of the lower floors, while the upper levels preserve old stone and wood crosses.

Today, the Malbosc house, located 6 rue Saint-Michel, is fully protected, including houses, outbuildings, courtyard, floor and basement. Its restoration in progress aims to preserve this testimony of the Austrian history, between the Toulouse influence, the Navarre royal power and the medieval heritage.

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