Hautes-Pyrénées

Tarbes[?] is the préfecture (capital) of the département.

Sous-préfectures: Argelès Gazost[?] and Bagnères de Bigorre[?].

The Hautes-Pyrénées is a mountainous agricultural landscape of villages, farms, fields, upland pastures and winding mountain roads. Spanning the border between France and Spain, the département is centered around the peak of Mont Perdu[?]. Large parts of the area were held by the English during the second half of the 14th century. In the 16th century, it was part of the Huguenot domain of the monarchs of Navarre.

Each year millions of devout Catholics make the pilgrimage to the village of Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrénées to visit The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes[?].

See also: Pyrenees.