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Saint-Béat

Coordinates: 42°54′54″N 0°41′36″E / 42.915°N 0.6933°E / 42.915; 0.6933
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Saint-Béat
The Garonne river and the village of Saint-Béat
The Garonne river and the village of Saint-Béat
Coat of arms of Saint-Béat
Location of Saint-Béat
Map
Saint-Béat is located in France
Saint-Béat
Saint-Béat
Saint-Béat is located in Occitanie
Saint-Béat
Saint-Béat
Coordinates: 42°54′54″N 0°41′36″E / 42.915°N 0.6933°E / 42.915; 0.6933
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentHaute-Garonne
ArrondissementSaint-Gaudens
CantonBagnères-de-Luchon
CommuneSaint-Béat-Lez
Area
1
7.37 km2 (2.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
345
 • Density47/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
31440
Elevation476–1,760 m (1,562–5,774 ft)
(avg. 500 m or 1,600 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Béat (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ bea]; Gascon: Sent Biat) is a former commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Saint-Béat-Lez.[2]

Sites and monuments

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Marble quarries

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Saint-Béat is renowned for its marble quarries, which have been in operation since Roman times. Although quarrying activity is now reduced, various marbles were or are still extracted from the municipality:

  • The statuary white, or bluish-white, is the most prestigious marble from the municipality. For instance, it has been used to adorn the Palace of Versailles and the Grand Trianon. Its white or light gray color makes it a marble suitable for substituting Carrara marble, even though its coarser grain makes it harder and more challenging to sculpt.
  • Blue Turquin marble: it is a bluish-gray marble that can range up to dark gray.
  • The surroundings of Saint-Béat also host quarries with marbles of various colors: the black from Loures-Barousse, the yellow from Bagiry, the red from Cierp, as well as green and white from Lez...

Every year, a sculpture and marble festival takes place in July in Saint-Béat. It welcomes sculptors, including some internationally renowned artists, who have three weeks to create a piece using blocks of local marble. The festival also offers workshops for those interested in learning the art of sculpture.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1962687—    
1968755+9.9%
1975611−19.1%
1982543−11.1%
1990547+0.7%
1999364−33.5%
2006394+8.2%
2007398+1.0%
2008394−1.0%
2012387−1.8%
2016345−10.9%
Saint-Béat by Eugène de Malbos, near 1840.

See also

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References

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