Oloron-Sainte-Marie

Oloron-Sainte-Marie
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Canton	Main town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1 Oloron-Sainte-Marie-2
Community association	Haut Bearn
Coordinates	43 ° 12 ′  N , 0 ° 36 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 12 ′  N , 0 ° 36 ′  W
height	194-1,380 m
surface	68.31 km 2
Residents	10,684 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	156 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	64400
INSEE code	64422
Website	www.oloron-ste-marie.fr
View over Oloron-Sainte-Marie with the towers of Sainte-Marie

Oloron-Sainte-Marie ( Occitan Auloron ) is a French city with 10,684 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine . It is the seat of the sub-prefecture ( French Sous-préfecture ) of the Arrondissement Oloron-Sainte-Marie , which consists of twelve cantons .

geography

Oloron-Sainte-Marie is the capital of Béarn , an old French province on the border with the Basque Country . The city lies on the Gave d'Oloron , which is created here by the confluence of the Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau . The Via Tolosana , one of the four historical " Routes of the Pilgrims of St. James in France " leads through the city to Santiago de Compostela . Here it turns south into the Pyrenees and leads along the Gave d'Aspe up to the Col du Somport and the border to Spain. National road 134 to Jaca in Spain also runs through this valley .

history

Oloron is a Roman foundation first mentioned in the 3rd century under the name Iluro . In 506 a bishop of Oloron took part in the Synod of Agde . After that, a bishop is not mentioned again until 1058. The city may have been abandoned in the meantime.

In 1080 the construction of town fortifications and a church on the headland between Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau began under the name of Sainte-Croix. There was also the castle of the Viscount of Béarn. From 1102 Gaston IV. De Bearne built the church and later cathedral Ste-Marie d'Oloron on the left bank of the river as the seat of the bishop.

After Viscount Gaston VI., Who had joined the Cathars in 1214 , had to cede the property at Sainte-Marie to the bishop as a result of the Albigensian Crusade , both places remained formally separate until the 19th century, even if Sainte-Marie was always economically from Oloron was addicted.

In 1802 the Diocese of Oloron was dissolved. In 1858 the two places were united.

Attractions

Choir and south transept of the Sainte-Marie church

Sainte-Marie church

Only a few remains of the church, which was originally started in 1102, have survived: some column capitals in the transept, as well as the main portal and the columns on which the bell tower rests.

After the destruction of the Albigensian Crusade, the church was rebuilt in the 13th century. In 1302 the nave burned down and a new reconstruction in the Gothic style was necessary. Further alterations were made in the 17th and 19th centuries.

The church has three aisles , each of which has two chapels. The ends of the transepts protrude beyond their extent. The choir and ambulatory are also surrounded by a chapel wreath. The vaults are designed as cross rib vaults . The massive impression of the church comes from the three squat towers: one above the south transept, one above the choir and the bell tower, which forms an open vestibule in front of the west portal.

Tympanum in the portal of the church

The Romanesque portal consists of two doors with a column between the two atlases. A semicircular tympanum rises above it , divided by two smaller semicircles above the individual doors. The three resulting fields are designed as marble reliefs . The two lower ones were replaced during the restoration in the 19th century and originally probably showed different scenes. Except for the capitals, all other parts date from the 12th century. However, they were recognizably designed by two different artists: the archivolt with its figure decorations in the vault and the two sculptures on the side depicting death according to Celtic tradition (left in the form of the Provencal Tarasque , a man-eating monster whose sacrifices go into the kingdom of Christ is because it wears a dress with a belt that closes it chastely and is designed in the form of a lying cross as a positive symbol, and on the right as a rider, whose horse tramples a bearded, i.e. sinful man), corresponds to Romanesque art from the center of the 12th century, while the central marble field is reminiscent of the work of an ivory carver. It shows, unique in Béarn, the Descent from the Cross in a way that is known from Byzantine art. Joseph of Arimathea lifts the body of Jesus from the cross while Nicodemus loosens his left hand and Mary takes the right. The sun and moon are depicted above the arms of the cross.

Since the abolition of the Diocese of Oloron , the church has been co- cathedral of the Diocese of Bayonne .

The Sainte-Marie church has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage " Camino de Santiago in France" since 1998 .

More Attractions

• The Romanesque church of Sainte-Croix from 1080, has a central dome in the Byzantine style. She gave her name to the oldest part of Oloron.
• The Tour de Grede , a residential tower from the 13th / 14th centuries century
• The neo-Romanesque church of Notre-Dame from the 19th century with its 52 meter high steeple
• There are over 400 different tree species in Parc Pommé .

Economy and Infrastructure

Companies

A Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory is located in Oloron .

The factories in Oloron, in which the berets and espadrilles are made here, are particularly well-known .

traffic

Oloron is on the Pau – Canfranc railway line .

Personalities

• Gaston IV. De Bearne , Viscount († 1131)
• Antoine Germain Labarraque , French pharmacist and chemist (1777-1850)
• Louis Barthou , French politician (1862-1934)
• Martial Singher , French opera singer and music teacher (1904–1990)

Town twinning

• Jaca , Spain

Individual evidence

1. ^ Paul Raymond: Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées. Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1863 (Reproduction photomécanique: Dictionnaire topographique Béarn Pays basque. Princi Néguer, Pau 1999, ISBN 2-905007-80-X ).
2. ^ Jacques Lacoste: Le portail roman de Sainte-Marie d'Oloron. In: Revue de Pau et de Béarn. No. 1, 1973, ISSN  0241-7413 , pp. 45-78.
3. ↑ Car rams cathedral: crosses, monstrances and chalices stolen. In: kathisch.de . November 4, 2019, accessed November 5, 2019 . 

Web links

Commons : Oloron-Sainte-Marie  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Oloron-Sainte-Marie Tourist Office
• WHC Nomination Documentation (PDF, 88.9 MB), application documents for the nomination as World Heritage, here: section "Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Eglise Sainte-Marie"