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Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...
.


History

The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the important towns of
Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...
and
Saragossa Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, its position was strategic. Today known as Saint-Grat, Gratus of Oloron became in 506 the first known archbishop of the Ancient Diocese of Oloron then known as "Iluro". The history of the town during the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
is little known. In 1080, the viscount Centule V, Viscount of Béarn built the new city of "Oloron" (medieval version of the Roman name Iluro) on the opposite side of the river from the diocese center. Centule V restored the Roman walls and founded the strong city of Oloron that was to be used as a base to retake
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
held by the Moors. The Oloron Cathedral was built at the beginning of the 12th century. The viscountal town of Oloron and the episcopal town of Sainte-Marie were then rivals, but Oloron strove on its textile industry and commerce with neighbouring Spain. Sainte-Marie became economically dependent upon Oloron. The 18th century was the beginning of revival for Sainte-Marie as the end of
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
allowed for restorations and new religious constructions in the town : cathedral, seminary, church Saint-Pierre. Moreover, the continued boom of commerce with Spain accelerated the construction of better communication and transportation routes to Oloron and Sainte-Marie. With the French Revolution, Oloron lost its diocese to
Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
but gained administrative importance by becoming one of the sous-préfectures of the new Republic. In 1858, the regent Empress Eugénie imposed the reunification of the towns of Oloron and Sainte-Marie.


Geography


Location

Situated at the feet of the
Pyrénées The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. F ...
, 50 km from the Spanish border and 100 km from the Atlantic ocean, Oloron-Sainte-Marie is at the confluence of two torrents ('' gaves''), the Gave d'Aspe and the Gave d'Ossau, that merge to form the
Gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron () is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade ...
. Capital of the Haut-
Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...
, Oloron-Sainte-Marie is also at the point of origin of the three Haut-Béarn valleys : the Aspe Valley, the
Ossau Valley The Ossau Valley ( ; / ) is a valley of the France, French Pyrénées, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''departments of France, département''. Administration 18 communes of France, communes belong to the Valley: Arudy, Aste-Béon, Béost, Besca ...
and the Barétous Valley. Neighboring communes:
Esquiule Esquiule (; )ESKIULA
, Moumour, Ledeuix, Estos, Cardesse, Monein, Goès, Précilhon,
Escout Escout (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department References

Communes of Pyrénées-Atla ...
, Herrère, Ogeu-les-Bains, Buziet, Arudy,
Escot Escot may refer to: * Escot, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France * Escot, Talaton, England People with the surname * Hagre l'Escot (fl. 1360s), Scottish mercenary captain * Pozzi Escot (born 1933), Peruvian musician See also

* Ascot (disambiguatio ...
, Asasp-Arros,
Lurbe-Saint-Christau Lurbe-Saint-Christau (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 545 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrà ...
, Eysus, Gurmençon, Bidos, Agnos, Ance and
Féas Féas ( Gascon: ''Hiars'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Ance Féas.Lindt & Sprüngli Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, Zürich, K ...
have a chocolate factory in Oloron. : * Safran Landing Systems have a plant in the adjacent commune of Bidos which manufactures landing gear for aircraft. Oloron is also famous, among hat enthusiasts, as the capital of the basque
beret A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in the 19th century in Southern France and the north of History of Spain (1808 ...
, although the beret business has fallen victim to the widespread collapse of the European textile business as well as changing fashions. Today only one beret business survives in Oloron. This is the Béatex company which employs approximately 80 people. The area also benefits from an active agriculture sector, involving animal rearing and general agriculture as well as
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
production. It is also part of the AOC defined districts entitled to produce the ewes' cheese, Ossau-Iraty.


Transport

The Pau–Canfranc railway passes through Oloron. Oloron railway station is served by TER Aquitaine, which operate eight trains per day to Pau and six to
Bedous Bedous (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Bedós'') is a Communes of France, commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is the birthplace of Pierre Laclède, the Frenchman who founded the U.S. ci ...
. Public transport in the town is provided by a company called La Navette, which operate three bus routes. Oloron - Herrère Aérodrome is an aerodrome five kilometers southeast of Oloron. It is predominantly used for light aviation and leisure.


Culture and heritage


Language

The local vernacular language is the
Béarnese dialect Béarnese (Endonym and exonym, endonym or ; ) is the variety of Gascon dialect, Gascon spoken in Béarn. The usage of a specific name for Béarnese lies in the history of Béarn, Viscounty of Béarn, a viscounty that became a sovereign principa ...
, a dialect of
Gascon language Gascon ( , , ) is the vernacular Romance variety spoken mainly in the region of Gascony, France. It is often considered a variety of larger Occitan macrolanguage, although some authors consider it a separate language due to hindered mutual ...
. One of the eight primary schools of Oloron is a Calandreta, a French/ Béarnese bilingual school. The demonym corresponding to Oloron-Sainte-Marie is Oloronais.


Architectural and historical landmarks

The town received the label
French Towns and Lands of Art and History Since 1985, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication has pursued a policy of preserving and promoting France's heritage. Historic towns and districts have been designated ''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire'' ("Towns and Lands of Art and ...
in November 2006. Oloron's architectural and historical landmarks : * the 13th-century Tour de Grède * the former town hall and prison, classified in 1987 among as
Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
* the fortified walls * the 16th-century Legugnon castle * the 17th-century building in the rue Pomone, classified in 1943 as
Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...
* the Parc Pommé * the "Maison du Patrimoine" * the Médiathèque public library that was awarded the Équerre d'Argent architectural award in 2010 (architect : Pascale Guédot). * the Oloron Cathedral * the Sainte Marie church Tour-Grede 001.jpg, Tour de Grède Oloron Pomme 02.JPG, Parc Pommé Oloron cathédrale ste marie 2.JPG, Cathedral Sainte Marie Oloron N-Dame 01.JPG, Eglise Notre Dame Oloron SainteMarie Tour.JPG, Cathedral Sainte Marie Oloron St-Grat 01.JPG, Saint Great


Cultural life

Oloron is home to a number of festivals : * the jazz festival ''Des Rives & Notes'' on the first weekend of July, * the "Amateur web film festival", organised every spring season to showcase the best short films published on the internet, * the "Book without borders" fair held on the second weekend of June. Oloron-Sainte-Marie has a theatre and concert venue (espace Pierre Jéliote).


Gastronomy

The town is renowned for its hearty vegetables, beans and meat soup, the
garbure ''Garbure'' (; ) is a thick French stew traditionally based on cabbage and Confit#Meat confit, confit d'oie,ROBUCHON, J., & MONTAGNÉ, P. (2001). Larousse gastronomique. New York, Clarkson Potter. though the modern version is usually made with ha ...
, for the Ossau-Iraty cheese, and for a delicacy invented by a local baker in 1925, the pastry "le Russe".


Notable people

Oloron-Sainte-Marie was the birthplace of: *
Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...
(1862–1934), politician of the Third Republic * Jean-Jacques Caux (Cataline) (1830–1922), explorer of the Canadian West * Suzanne Honoré (1909-2000), archivist at the
National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
* Ketty Lapeyrette (1884–1960), opera singer *
Camille Lopez Camille Lopez (born 3 April 1989) is a French rugby union player. He plays as a fly half (rugby union), fly-half for Aviron Bayonnais, Bayonne. Club career In 2009 it was announced that Lopez would leave SA Mauléon and join Bordeaux, he becam ...
(born 1989), rugby player


Climate


See also

* Oloron Cathedral *
Gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron () is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade ...
* Gave d'Ossau * Gave d'Aspe * Ancient Diocese of Oloron *
Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 545 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department of France. The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 202 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oloronsaintemarie Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Subprefectures in France Pyrénées-Atlantiques communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Béarn