Hautes-Pyrénées

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: 43°14′0″N 0°4′5″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Prefecture	Tarbes
Subprefectures	Argelès-Gazost Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Michel Pélieu (PRG)
Area 1
• Total	4,464 km2 (1,724 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	230,956
• Rank	86th
• Density	52/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-65
Department number	65
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	17
Communes	469
^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; 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

Map of the Hautes-Pyrénées

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. The southern part of the department is sparsely populated and typically have higher elevations while the northern part of the department is highly urbanised and typically have lower elevations than the southern part.

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:

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%
Sources:

Politics

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

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency		Member	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

See also

• Cantons of the Hautes-Pyrénées department
• Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department
• Arrondissements of the Hautes-Pyrénées department

External links

• (in French) Departmental Council of Hautes-Pyrénées website
• (in French) Prefecture website
• Pyrenees National Park
• (in French) Photography Panoramics 360° website