Hautes-Pyrénées

Department of France in Occitanie

Department of France in Occitania

Hautes-Pyrénées Hauts Pirenèus (Occitan) Altos Pirineos (Spanish) Alts Pirineus (Catalan)
Department of France
Prefecture building in Tarbes
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Hautes-Pyrénées in France
Coordinates: ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km²

Hautes-Pyrénées (French pronunciation: [ot piʁene] ^ⓘ; Gascon/Occitan: Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus ['awts piɾeˈnɛʊs]; Spanish: Altos Pirineos; Catalan: Alts Pirineus ['alts piɾiˈneʊs]; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the west, Gers to the north, Haute-Garonne to the east, as well by the Spanish province of Huesca in the autonomous community of Aragon to the south. In 2019, its population was 229,567;^[3] its prefecture is Tarbes. It is named after the Pyrenees mountain range.

History

Historically the area broadly covered by the département known as Bigorre, a territory at times independent but later part of Gascony province. Large parts of the area were held by the English after the Treaty of Brétigny, 1360. In the 16th century, it was part of the Huguenot domain of the monarchs of Navarre, brought to France by Henri IV. For its early history, see Bigorre and Gascony.

The département of Hautes-Pyrénées was created at the time of the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790, through the influence of French politician Bertrand Barère, a member of the Convention.

Geography

Hautes-Pyrénées consists of several distinct geographical areas. The southern portion, along the border with Spain, consists of mountains such as the Vignemale, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, and the Neouvielle and Arbizon ranges. A second area consists of low-altitude rolling hills. The northern part of the département consists of largely flat agricultural land. Hautes-Pyrénées has two small territorial exclaves—a remnant from the Middle Ages—located within the neighboring département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Principal towns

The greater Tarbes area is the economic and administrative focus of the département, while Lourdes, the second-biggest city in Hautes-Pyrénées, is dedicated almost exclusively to the religious pilgrimage industry. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:^[3]

Commune	Population (2019)
Tarbes	42,758
Lourdes	13,132
Aureilhan	7,864
Bagnères-de-Bigorre	7,085
Lannemezan	5,816
Bordères-sur-l'Échez	5,357
Séméac	5,085

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1801	174,721	—
1806	198,763	+2.61%
1821	212,077	+0.43%
1831	233,031	+0.95%
1841	244,196	+0.47%
1851	251,285	+0.29%
1861	240,179	−0.45%
1872	235,156	−0.19%
1881	236,472	+0.06%
1891	225,861	−0.46%
1901	215,546	−0.47%
1911	206,105	−0.45%
1921	185,760	−1.03%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1931	189,993	+0.23%
1936	188,604	−0.15%
1946	201,954	+0.69%
1954	203,544	+0.10%
1962	211,433	+0.48%
1968	225,730	+1.10%
1975	227,222	+0.09%
1982	227,922	+0.04%
1990	224,759	−0.17%
1999	222,368	−0.12%
2006	227,736	+0.34%
2011	229,228	+0.13%
2016	227,829	−0.12%

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Michel Pélieu, first elected in 2011.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency		Member^[6]	Party
	Hautes-Pyrénées's 1st constituency	Jean-Bernard Sempastous	La République En Marche!
	Hautes-Pyrénées's 2nd constituency	Jeanine Dubié	Radical Party of the Left

Tourism

The Western Pyrenees National Park covers a significant area, and includes well-known attractions such as the Cirque de Gavarnie and the Pont d'Espagne. The entire area is a favorite destination of hikers and mountain enthusiasts.

The area has been known perhaps since Antiquity for its hot springs, and several towns were built around these, most notably Cauterets, Luz-Saint-Sauveur and Bagnères-de-Bigorre.

A notable lake in the area is Lac Bleu d'Ilhéou, southwest of Cauterets.

There are a number of popular ski resorts in Hautes-Pyrénées such as Barèges-La Mongie, Gavarnie, Luz-Ardiden, Cauterets, Hautacam, Piau-Engaly and Saint-Lary-Soulan.

The area is a nearly-permanent fixture on the Tour de France's itinerary, with significantly difficult passes such as the Tourmalet, the Aubisque and the Soulor.

The region's premier avant-garde jazz festival is held each year in Luz-Saint-Sauveur: Jazz a Luz. Tarbes hosts an annual horse festival, Equestria, and a Tango festival, Tarbes en Tango.

Lourdes sanctuary
Pic du Midi de Bigorre
Vignemale
Middle of Lake Bastan, shortly before sunset
Cirque de Gavarnie

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b Populations légales 2019: 65 Hautes-Pyrénées Archived 2022-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, INSEE
^ "Historique des Hautes-Pyrénées". Le SPLAF. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE. Archived from the original on 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.