The town was known inantiquity asVicus Aquensis[4] (Latin for "wateryneighborhood") and in theMiddle Ages asAquae Convenarum[5][6] ("Waters of theComminges"). Its present name similarly means "Baths" (Occitan:Banhèras) ofBigorre, the area of southwesternFrance once inhabited by theBigorri and now forming most of thedepartment ofHautes-Pyrénées. Either Bagnères-de-Bigorre or nearbyCieutat was apparently the "Begorra" attested in AD 400, which also derived from the ancient tribe.[7]
Bagnères-de-Bigorre is located in the foothills of the Pyrenees partly in the valley of theAdour some 18 km (11 mi) southeast ofTarbes and 15 km (9 mi) east ofLourdes.
TheAdour river flows through the north-east of the commune and the town flowing towards the north to eventually flow into theAtlantic Ocean atBayonne. Numerous streams flow through the commune including the GaiVeste which forms the northern border as it flows north-east to join the Adour, theOussouet which forms part of the western border as it flows north, theArdazen which forms part of the eastern border as it flows east to join theAngoue, theQuartier par d'Abay which also forms part of the eastern border as it flows north-east gathering numerous tributaries, theLhécou flows north fromLac Bleu just south of the commune to join the Quartier par d'Abay, theGaret forms part of the south-eastern border as it flows north from several lakes in the south of the commune (Lac de Caderolles, Lac de Gréziolles), theAdour d'Arizes flows south-east, and theAdour du Tourmalet flows east then north-east through the south of the commune, the hamlet of La Mongie and the Castillon Dam, to join the Adour d'Arizes forming theAdour de Gripp.[8]
Bagneres-de-Bigorre is relatively untouched by the west by south-west disturbances which blow out before the high border mountain range. It is however intensely exposed to north by north-west disturbances that collide with the terrain. This barrier effect is felt up to the foothills so that springs, autumns, and winters are cool and rainy while summers are often hot and particularly stormy.
TheVisigoths in the area were displaced by theFranks following their defeat at the AD 507Battle of Vouillé, but there are no documents or remains from the area to provide guidance on local history until 1171. Archaeologists have proposed that the city was destroyed at some point by an earthquake and abandoned following aplague outbreak in 580.[6]
The area had recovered by 1171, whenCentule III,count of Bigorre, granted "Aquae Convenarum" a liberal charter.[12] The bill of rights and franchises lists four villages in the area protected by ramparts. By 1313, 800 "fires" (i.e.,taxable homesteads) were recorded, making Bagnères as large asTarbes, the county seat.[6] The town was a place of manufacture and trade, with only 40% directly involved in agriculture.Mills were erected on widened canals fed by the Adour; in addition to grinding wheat, they were used to stamp cauldrons, forgescythes, andtanning hides.[6] TheBlack Death reached the town in 1348. Amid theHundred Years' War, the town fell intoEnglish possession in 1360 before suffering a second outbreak of plague the following year.Henri de Trastámara, an ally of the French king, plundered, ransomed, and razed the town in 1427. Two years later there were no more than 291 "fires" in Bagnères, although the town slowly repopulated.[6]
The town became even more commercial. In 1551,KingHenry III ofNavarre reformed the town's government, replacing its six consuls indirectly elected by a general assembly of the locals with a larger council of 40.[6]
Already badly disposed towardsCatherine de' Medici, queen regent of France, Jeanne converted toCalvinism onChristmas Day, 1560. She began attempting to impose theReformation on her domains the following year. As the people of Bagnères remained largelyCatholic, following the onset of theFrench Wars of Religion after theMassacre of Vassy, arrests forheresy began in 1562. While theCount of Montgomery was recoveringBéarn from Catherine's allies in 1569, he went on to demand large ransoms from her other towns, including Bagnères. (It is unrecorded whether the people of Bagnères paid him, but he is recorded leaving the town unmolested and leaving forGers.) The governor of Bagnères Antoine Beaudéan was killed by the Protestant warlord Lizier in an ambush near Pouzac in 1574.[6] By the end of the Wars of Religion, the town was ruined. Plague also returned in 1588. The outbreak ended following a religious procession prompted by the "Lighting of the Liloye", aMarian apparition at the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Médous.[6]
The ascension of Jeanne's sonHenry as king of France in 1589 united his titles—including count of Bigorre—with theFrench monarchy.[6]
The plague struck Bagnères again in 1628, 1653, and 1654. Public health measures were taken, with most patients isolated in the Salut Valley. The disease did not reappear after December 1654.[6]
On 21 June 1660, strong earthquakes hit the town, continuing for three weeks. Only seven people were killed, but 150 houses were damaged and the springs initially dried up. This was only temporary, however, and the water flowed again sometime later.[6] Reconstruction was carried out withdimension stones from the Salut Quarry. This stone has the distinction of becoming like marble once polished, a feature that characterized the architecture of the town afterwards.
Hydrotherapy was gaining importance. There were 25 private businesses by 1787. In 1775, a convent building was transformed into a gambling establishment called theVaux-Hall where there was also dining and dancing. This is the first casino in Bagnères.[6]
During theFrench Revolution, "moderate suspects" took refuge in the city from 1789 to 1793, ready to flee toSpain if the situation worsened. The departmental authorities were wary of the Bagnèrese, to whom they ascribed little civic or revolutionary spirit. In late 1793, before the hospitals in the southwest became saturated, the wounded were evacuated to spas. At Bagnères, the Saint Barthelemy Hospice, the Uzer and Lanzac houses, and the Hospice of theMédous Capuchins were used as military hospitals.[6]
Bagnères on theMidi Railway's branch road south from TarbesPlan of Bagnères in the 19th century.
In the 19th century, thehydrotherapy offered by Bagnères's spas was reckoned particularly effective for digestive complaints[4] but the private spas were growing more decrepit. In response, the municipality organized the construction of a Grand Thermal Spa (the "Thermes"), which was completed in 1828.[6] By the 1870s, the tourists would double the town's population ofc. 9500 during the "season", which ran from May until about the end of October.[4] The casino also opened its own spa, the "Néothermes".[12]
The supply of marble became a pillar of the local economy, with the expansion of the Géruzet marble works making it one of the largest in France from 1829 to 1880. In the 1870s, the industry employed a thousand people.[6]Slate was also quarried.[12]Dominique Soulé expanded his business from an old mill purchased in 1862, the same year the town was connected to theMidi Railway.[6] The town also produced woolen and worsted cloth, leather, pottery, and toys.[4] A local specialty wasbarège, a light fabric of mixed silk and wool.[12]
The demolition of the city's walls allowed the completion of ring roads around the town,[6] and the town was the site of tribunals of first instance and of commerce.[12]
The town's population had declined to around 7000 at the onset of theFirst World War,[12] which resulted in the expansion of industry in Bagnères, particularly in the field of railway rolling stock. The marble industry collapsed but mechanical and textile industries replaced it. The share of hydrotherapy in the economy also decreased. In June 1944, during theSecond World War, a punitive expedition of a company of SS murdered 32 in the town and hundreds more in the valley in retaliation against the actions of the resistance in the region.[6]
The postwar period saw rapid urban growth, particularly in the 1960s. Rural areas of the commune disappeared. The territory was occupied by dwellings to the borders of the neighbouring communes ofGerde andPouzac which also become urban.[6]
At the end of the 20th century industrial activity decreased. The thermal spa guests were always present and new jobs were created by the implementation of the regional Centre for Reeducation and Rehabilitation, a large retirement home, and a nursing home.[6]
The Community of communes of Haute-Bigorre (CCHB) was created in December 1994 to support joint development projects. It has been allocated a general grant for operations by the State and large grants by the General Council, the Regional Council, the State, and by Europe.Its skills are in:
Economic development (businesses, trades, commercial fabrics...);
Services to the elderly, children, and the disabled;
Bagnères-de-Bigorre has a regional hospital which has 25 beds for medicine, 20 beds for longer stays (4 of aftercare for alcohol withdrawal), and 220 beds for rehabilitation and physical medicine (25 places for day hospitalization). On the Castelmouly site (accommodation for the dependent elderly) the capacity is 142 beds plus 2 temporary, 36 long-stay beds, and 8 day care places for people with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. The town also has a famous thermal baths.
Schools in the commune are in the school district of theAcademy of Toulouse.
The commune has three kindergartens (Clair Vallon, Carnot, and Achard), and six elementary schools (Calandreta of Banhèras (Occitan School), Jules Ferry, Pic du Midi, Carnot, Lesponne, les Palomières, and Saint Vincent).
The General Council manages the Colleges of Blanche Odin (formerly city school Achard) and Saint Vincent while the region supports the Victor Duruy high school.
The economy of Bagnères-de-Bigorre is mainly in the secondary sector, at one time including railway materials, but Hydrotherapy and tourism are the main activities in the commune.
TheGrands Thermes de Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Grand Thermal Baths of Bagnères-de-Bigorre) are traditionally employed for treatment ofrheumatism, nervous afflictions, indigestion, and other maladies.[12] The naturally-sourced waters vary in temperature from 90 to 135 °F (32 to 57 °C).[4]
Like most thermal cities, Bagnères-de-Bigorre has a casino. It is in the same building with the Aquensis thermal spa. The ski resort of La Mongie is also nearby.
Access to the commune is by the D935 roads from Tarbes which passes through the north-eastern tip of the commune and the town before continuing southeast toBeaudéan. The D938 branches off the D935 in the town and goes north toTournay. The D29 goes from Beaudéan to the centre of the commune with no exit. The D918 fromBarèges passes through the southeast of the commune through the hamlet of La Mongie and continues northeast to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. Apart from the town area the commune is mostly mountainous with few roads.[8]
The railway that connectedBagnères andTarbes was closed in the late 1980s and the service is now provided by the TER bus from the old railway station which is now known as the bus station. The nearest airport isTarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport some 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the north.
The commune has several buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
TheUzer House at 1 Place d'Uzer (17th century)[19]
TheJean d'Albret House at 5 Rue du Vieux-Moulin (1539)[20]
TheTower of the Jacobins (14th century)[21] is built in the flamboyant Gothic style with a squarebelfry of two floors atop an octagonal tower 35 metres (115 feet) high. It is a remnant of what was once aDominican monastery.[12] The church was destroyed by fire in 1343. The convent and cloister were demolished in 1793.
Other sites of interest
TheHospital contains a framed Painting: The Virgin of Carmel with the child Jesus and the Prophet Elie Tobie, and an angel (18th century) which is registered as an historical object.[22]
TheTown Hall contains Library Shelves (19th century) which are registered as an historical object.[23]
TheGrands Thermes de Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Grand Thermal Baths of Bagnères-de-Bigorre) were built in theClassical architecture of the 19th century using Pyrenees marble. It contains a Monument dedicated to the divinity of the Emperor Augustus (1st century) which is registered as an historical object.[24] It also formerly held a good library.[12]
TheChurch of Saint Vincent (1557)[26] was built on a sanctuary of paleo-Christian origin. The style isHigh Gothic on the west façade while the south side is distinguished by its Renaissance style porch. The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
TheGrottes de Médous (Médous caves) are natural caves accessible to visitors as well as a place of pilgrimage.
Bagnères-de-Bigorre is the reference site forTheodoxus fluviatilis thermalis which was described in the 19th century by themalacologistDominique Dupuy.
TheÀ Voix Haute Music Festival (At a Loud Volume Music Festival)
TheHigh school girls video meeting (Ascension weekend)
ThePyrenees Book Fair
The town has an orchestra called theHarmony Bagnéraise and a choir calledLa chorale des chanteurs montagnards (Chorus of Mountain Singers) which is the oldest secular choir in France and Europe [ref. required].
TheStade Bagnérais is a French rugby union club who have long played in the First Division, twice reaching the final of the Championship of France (1979 and 1981), and which plays inFédérale 1 in the Rugby Championship in France.
The town of Bagneres has several sports associations, school structures, a leisure center, and numerous sports facilities:
4 Gymnasiums: La Plaine, Henri Cordier, Jules Ferry, and Carnot;
The Petit-RocherCarmel was founded in 1833 by Mother Marie-des-Anges. Expelled in 1901, the Carmelites returned in 1921 and a new community was formed in 2009.[34]
There is also a temple of the Reformed Church built by Emilien Frossard in 1857. It is attached to the parish of Hautes-Pyrenees withTarbes andCauterets.
Pierre-Georges Latécoère (1883–1943): Industrialist and businessman, born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Pierre Lamy de la Chapelle (Limoges 1892-Bagnères-de-Bigorre 1944): son-in-law of Dominique Soulé, pioneer of the ski station at La Mongie, founded the tennis club of Bagnères-de-Bigorre in 1920, originated the idea of serving the Pic-du-Midi with a cable car
Tony Poncet (1918–1979):tenor, Opera singer and war veteran, lived in Bagnères-de-Bigorre
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