Sauveterre-de-Béarn
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Sauveterre-de-Béarn |
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 Sauveterre-de-Béarn
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Aquitaine |
| Department | Pyrénées-Atlantiques |
| Arrondissement | Oloron-Sainte-Marie |
| Canton | Sauveterre-de-Béarn (chef-lieu) |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes de Sauveterre-de-Béarn |
| Mayor | Jean Labour (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 44–205 m (144–673 ft) (avg. 71 m or 233 ft) |
| Land area1 | 14.54 km2 (5.61 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 1,352 (2006) |
| - Density | 93 /km2 (240 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 64513/ 64390 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Coordinates: 43°24′02″N 0°56′19″W / 43.4006°N 0.9386°W
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (December 2008) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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Sauveterre-de-Béarn is a pretty medieval village perched above the Gave d'Oloron and facing the Pyrennes in south-western France. It is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.
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[edit] History
Built originally as a walled refuge ("sauveté" hence "Sauveterre") from the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, Sauveterre grew in importance as its old bridge was on one of the main routes to Spain, used by pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela, and others. In the Middle Ages it was to keep a watch from its lofty heights on Navarre and Gascony.
It was from the bridge that in 1170 Queen Sancie, widow of the recently deceased Gaston V of the Béarn, was submitted to the judgement of God and thrown into the river, hands and feet tied, after being accused of the murder of her newly born and malformed son. She survived and was declared innocent.
The fortifications suffered from the religious wars, but enough remains to fire the imagination of what this once important town must have been.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Sauveterre de Bearn appeared in the Trevanian (aka Rod Whitaker) novel The Summer of Katya under the name Alos. In the book, it is where the Festival of the Drowned Virgin takes place.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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