Lourdes | |
Lourdes with the Sanctuary of Our Lady | |
Administration | |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Midi-Pyrénées |
Department | Hautes-Pyrénées |
Arrondissement | Argelès-Gazost |
Canton | Lourdes-1 and Lourdes-2 |
Intercommunality | Le Pays de Lourdes |
Mayor | Josette Bourdeu (2014-2020) |
Statistics | |
Elevation | 343–960 m (1,125–3,150 ft) (avg. 652 m/2,139 ft) |
Land area1 | 36.94 km2 (14.26 sq mi) |
Population2 | 13,846 (2014) |
- Density | 375/km2 (970/sq mi) |
INSEE/Postal code | 65286/ 65100 |
Website | www.lourdes.fr |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
Lourdes (Occitan: Lorda) is a town and commune in the southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées department. It is in the first Pyrenean foothills in the Occitanie region, in southwestern France.
Lourdes was originally a small unremarkable market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. At that time the most prominent feature was the fortified castle which rises up from the centre of the town on a rock. Following the claims that there were apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Christian pilgrimage.