Lourdes

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Lourdes
Lourdes coat of arms
Lourdes (France)
Lourdes
region Occitania
Department Hautes-Pyrénées
Arrondissement Argelès-Gazost
Canton Lourdes-1 (main town)
Lourdes-2 (main town)
Community association Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées
Coordinates 43 ° 6 ′  N , 0 ° 3 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 6 ′  N , 0 ° 3 ′  W
height 343-960 m
surface 36.94 km 2
Residents 13,389 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 362 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 65100
INSEE code 65286
Website www.lourdes-france.com
The Gave de Pau river in Lourdes
The Grotto of Massabielle, the destination of the Lourdes pilgrims, with the statue of the Virgin Mary by Joseph-Hugues Fabisch created according to Bernadette's information
Château and train station, 1906
Lourdes 1994

Lourdes ( Gascon Lorda ) is a French town in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in the region Okzitanien near the Spanish border. It has 13,389 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017). It is one of the world's most popular pilgrimage sites . Lourdes belongs to the diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes of the Roman Catholic Church . In 1858 a girl of fourteen at the time is said to have had apparitions of the Virgin Mary ; soon afterwards more and more pilgrims were traveling to Lourdes.

geography

Lourdes is located in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees at an altitude of 420 meters. Coming from the south, the Gave de Pau flows through Lourdes.

Place of pilgrimage

In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous is said to have had several apparitions of a woman dressed in white near the Massabielle grotto ( Massevieille , "old rock"). Later, according to her, the apparition was revealed as “the immaculate conception”, which the pastor and the ecclesiastical commission of inquiry interpreted as confirmation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary . During one of these apparitions the source in the grotto was exposed. The Mother of God asked Bernadette Soubirous, as she said, to tell the priests that a church would be built at the grotto and to have processions there.

Today the church is an important place of pilgrimage. The source is said to have healing powers and many miraculous healings have been reported. Bernadette Soubirous was canonized on December 8, 1933 . Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes from August 14th to 15th, 2004, and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI , from September 13th to 15th, 2008 .

Attractions

Most visitors are through the Catholic pilgrimage sites, especially the site des sanctuaires ("Holy District") around the apparition grotto , the spring with the water that is considered miraculous and the baths ( piscines ) for the sick, as well as the three large churches - the Basilica Notre -Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception , the Rosary Basilica and the underground basilica Saint-Pie X - dressed. This holds up to 25,000 visitors.

Lourdes is also an important base point for tourism in the Pyrenees . There is the Musée pyrénéen de Lourdes in the fortress Château fort de Lourdes . There is also Franz Schrader (1844-1924), including a significant Pyrenees researchers acknowledged.

The Pic du Jer mountain on the outskirts can be reached on foot or with the Funiculaire du Pic du Jer funicular .

economy

The most important economic factor is pilgrimage tourism. Lourdes has (as of 2010) around 12,000 beds in hotels and hostels. With around five million overnight stays, the municipality of Lourdes has the most overnight stays in France after Paris . 68 percent of the visitors come from abroad, 31 percent from Italy, followed by the British and Spanish. There are around 200 souvenir shops.

traffic

Lourdes has an international airport 10 km north of the city near the RN 21 .

Lourdes train station is on the Toulouse – Bayonne railway line . From 1914 to 1932, the Lourdes – Artigues railway was also operated, with a separate station on Place Peyramale in the east of the old town.

Many visitors come by bus or train. In 2010 there were around 400 special trains.

Sports

The city's most important sports club is Lourdes FC , which plays rugby union and has been French champions eight times. On July 15, 2011, Lourdes was the destination of a stage of the 2011 Tour de France .

Town twinning

As part of the Shrines of Europe collaboration , Lourdes has been linked to five other Marian shrines since 1996 ; In 2017 Einsiedeln became the seventh member. The partner locations are:

Germany Altötting ( Germany )
Switzerland Einsiedeln ( Switzerland )
Portugal Fátima ( Portugal )
Italy Loreto ( Italy )
Austria Mariazell ( Austria )
Poland Czestochowa ( Poland ; Polish Częstochowa)

Personalities

literature

Web links

Commons : Lourdes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Lourdes  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ^ La basilique Saint-Pie X. Website of the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Lourdes, archived from the original on July 10, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2017 (French). Basilica of St. Pius X. Site of the Notre-Dame de Lourdes sanctuary, archived from the original on June 18, 2012 ; accessed on September 9, 2017 (English).
  2. ↑ Musée Pyrénéen de Lourdes . ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. French Ministry of Culture and Communication , accessed 9 September 2017 (French). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.culture.gouv.fr
  3. ↑ a b Renée Mourgues: Lourdes, deuxième cité hôtelière de France , La République des Pyrénées of August 13, 2011, accessed on June 16, 2012 (French)