Saint-Sever (, Gascon ''Sent Sever'' ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

in southwestern France.INSEE commune file
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History and geography

Saint-Sever stands on an eminence. It is south of Mont-de-Marsan, on the left bank of the

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High- Bigorre ( Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. ...

in the Chalosse area. Neighboring communes:

Benquet Benquet () is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Geography Benquet is situated south of Mont-de-Marsan, at the confines of the Landes forest and of the agricultural region of Chalosse. It is fro ...

, Bas-Mauco,

Audignon Audignon (; oc, Audinhon) is a commune of the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of Fr ...

, Cauna,

Aurice Aurice () is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of France ...

, Montaut, Banos,

Coudures Coudures (; Gascon: ''Coduras'') is a commune in the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is located SSE of Saint-Sever and from Eyres-Moncube. Geography Coudures is in the area south of the river Adour. This ar ...

, Eyres-Moncube,

Montsoué Montsoué (； oc, Montsoèr) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes departmen ...

, Montgaillard. The town's abbey was founded by Guillaume Sanche lord of Gascony in the late 10th century. According to the monastic chronicles, this was as the result of a vow he made after the battle of

Taller Taller is a Communes of France, commune in the Landes (department), Landes Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. William II Sánchez of Gascony perpetrated a major defeat of the Vikings at Taller in 982 ...

, in Gascony, in which he defeated the Vikings (982). In 1060, after a fire, the abbey was reconstructed on the model of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...

under the direction of the abbot Gregori de Montaner. The Saint-Sever Beatus was the work of monks working under the direction of the same abbot; Abbot Gregori held the post from 1028 to 1072.

Sights

Its streets, bordered in places by old houses, are narrow and winding. The promenade of Morlanne laid out on the site of a Roman camp called '' Palestrion'' commands a fine view of the Adour and the pine forests of the Landes. Abbaye St Sever 7

The church of Saint-Sever, a Romanesque building of the 12th century, with seven

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s, once belonged to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

abbey founded in the 10th century. The abbey of Saint-Sever was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998, as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. The convent and cloister of the Jacobins (13th century), a Dominican convent, built of pink bricks; now contains the Jacobins Museum (exhibits include rocks and illuminations from the

Saint-Sever Beatus The Saint-Sever Beatus, also known as the Apocalypse of Saint-Sever (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS lat. 8878), is a Romanesque Illuminated manuscript from the 11th century. It was made at Saint-Sever Abbey, then in the Duchy of Gascony, un ...

Population

Sights

The public institutions of the town include the

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

, a tribunal of first instance, and a practical school of agriculture and viticulture which occupies a former Dominican convent.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintsever Communes of Landes (department) World Heritage Sites in France Landes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia