Tarbes - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tarbes Tarba
Prefecture and commune
Tarbes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Coat of arms
Location of Tarbes
Tarbes Show map of France Tarbes Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°13′51″N 0°04′21″E / 43.230700°N 0.072600°E / 43.230700; 0.072600
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Hautes-Pyrénées
Arrondissement	Tarbes
Canton	Chief town of 3 cantons
Intercommunality	Le Grand Tarbes
Government
• Mayor (2014-2020)	Gérard Trémège
Area 1	15.33 km2 (5.92 sq mi)
Population  (2014)	40,900
• Density	2,700/km2 (6,900/sq mi)
Demonym	Tarbais(es)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	65440 /65000
Elevation	284–326 m (932–1,070 ft) (avg. 304 m or 997 ft)
Website	www.tarbes.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Tarbes (Occitan: Tarba) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is part of the historical region of Gascony and is the capital since 1790 of the Hautes-Pyrénées department.

It is the second largest metropolitan area of the old Midi-Pyrénées region, after Toulouse.

Name[change | change source]

The city is named for the first time during the 5th century like Civitas Turba ubi castrum Bigorra. It is also an important city of the Novempopulania.^{[N 1]} Gregory of Tours, in the 7th century, called the city as Talvam vicum.

During the Middle Ages, the city was named as Tarbe (1214), Tursa, Tarvia (1284) and also Tarbia.

History[change | change source]

A small town founded in the 3rd century B.C. became a Roman colony under the name of Tarba. It was destroyed by the Vikings in 840 and rebuilt by the Bishop of Bigorre or Tarbes.

From the twelfth century on, Tarbes became the capital of the County of Bigorre.^{[N 2]} During the religious wars, the cathedral was burnt in 1569 by Protestants but the bishop had it rebuilt in 1652.

In 1790, Tarbes became the capital of the new department of Hautes-Pyrénées.

Geography[change | change source]

Tarbes is located in the southwest of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, in a fertile plain of the valley of the river Adour, at 20 km (12 mi) to the northeast of Lourdes, 70 km (43 mi) to the southeast of Auch, 144 km (89 mi) to the east of Bayonne and 155 km (96 mi) to the southwest of Toulouse.

It has an area of 15.33 km² (6 sq mi) and its average altitude is 304 m (997 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 311 m (1,020 ft).^[1]

Two rivers flow through the city: the Adour by the east and the Échez by the west.

Neighboring municipalities[change | change source]

Tarbes and its neighboring communes

The following municipalities (communes) are around Tarbes:

• To the north: Andrest, Bazet (going to Bordeaux)
• To the northeast: Orleix, Aureilhan (going to Auch)
• To the east: Séméac (going to Saint-Gaudens, Toulouse)
• To the southeast: Soues, Barbazan-Debat
• To the south: Laloubère, Horgues (going to Bagnères-de-Bigorre)
• To the southwest: Juillan, Ossun, Hibarette, Odos (going to Lourdes, Argelès-Gazost)
• To the west: Ibos (going to Pau, Bayonne)
• To the northwest: Bordères-sur-l'Échez, Oursbelille

Climate[change | change source]

Tarbes has an oceanic climate with relatively hot summers, mild winters and abundant rainfall, Cfb in the Köppen climate classification.

Population[change | change source]

The inhabitants of Tarbes are known, in French, as Tarbais (women: Tarbaises).^[4]

The city of Tarbes has a population, in 2014, of 40,900;^[5] its population density is of 2,668 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Tarbes

Administration[change | change source]

Tarbes is the prefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department since 1790. It is also the capital of three Cantons:

1. Tarbes-1, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,514 inhabitants) (2014)
2. Tarbes-2, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,402 inhabitants) (2014)
3. Tarbes-3, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,984 habitants) (2014)

It is part of the intercommunality Le Grand Tarbes (French: Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Tarbes).

Sister cities[change | change source]

Tarbes is twinned with:^[6]

• Huesca, Spain, since 7 May 1964
• Altenkirchen, Germany, since 24 June 1972

Transport[change | change source]

The Gare de Tarbes railway station offers direct connections with Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Bayonne and other cities in the region. There is a motorway that connects Tarbes with Bayonne and Toulouse. Tarbes is also served by the small Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport situated 10 kilometers away of the city centre.

Education[change | change source]

• Institut national polytechnique de Toulouse

Gallery[change | change source]

• 
  The Adour river through Tarbes
• 
  Massey garden
• 
  Fountain of the Quatre-Vallées
• 
  Sainte-Thérèse de Tarbes church

Related pages[change | change source]

• Arrondissement of Tarbes
• Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department

Notes[change | change source]

1. ↑ Novempopulania ("country of the nine peoples") was a Roman province, also called Aquitania Tertia.
2. ↑ In this case, "county" (French: Comté) means "land under a count (the British earl)".

References[change | change source]

Other websites[change | change source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tarbes.

• City Council website (in French)
• Office de Tourisme - Tarbes Archived 2011-11-24 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• Grand Tarbes website Archived 2011-02-02 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) Information Archived 2013-09-09 at the Wayback Machine