Sers (Hautes-Pyrénées)

Sers
region	Occitania
Department	Hautes-Pyrénées
Arrondissement	Argelès-Gazost
Canton	La Vallée des Gaves
Community association	Pyrénées Vallées des Gaves
Coordinates	42 ° 53 ' N , 0 ° 2' E Coordinates: 42 ° 53 ' N , 0 ° 2' E
height	928-2,872 m
surface	29.91 km 2
Residents	114 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	4 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	65120
INSEE code	65424

Sers is a French commune with 114 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region ; it belongs to the Argelès-Gazost arrondissement and the canton of La Vallée des Gaves .

location

Sers is located in the south of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, around 39 km (as the crow flies) south of Tarbes . The place is located on the southern slope of the Soum d'Espade d'Arbéouse mountain (2139 m above sea level) north of the Bastan River in the Pyrenees National Park . It is part of the Lavedan region and its sub-region Vallée de Barège . The highest point in the municipality is the peak of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (2872 m above sea level) in the north-east of the municipality. Also famous is the Col du Tourmalet pass on the eastern border of the municipality, which has to be crossed regularly on the Tour de France.

The community consists of the village of Sers, a few small settlements and numerous individual farms.

history

In the early Middle Ages the rulership changed frequently (Visigoths, Basques, Franks, Saracens). After that, the place was under the rule of the Kingdom of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Gascony for centuries. From 900 to 1609 there was a county of Bigorre within the aforementioned areas. A sub-area of this rule was the Lavedan region , which Sers was part of. During the Hundred Years War , Sers was sometimes under English, sometimes under French rule. From 1425 to 1609 the place belonged as part of the county of Bigorre to the county of Foix, which is only loosely connected to France . Because the last ruler of this county, King Henry II of the House of Bourbon, ascended the throne of France (as Henry IV) in 1589, the places in the region were crown domains from 1609 to 1789. The municipality belonged to the District of Argelès from 1793 to 1801. It was also part of the canton of Luz-Saint-Sauveur from 1793 to 2015 (1793–1962 under the name of Canton Luz ). With the exception of the years 1926 to 1942 (Arrondissement Bagnères), Sers was administratively part of the Arrondissement Argelès-Gazost from 1801. First mentioned by name as De de Serciis and De Cerciis in the Bigorre copial book in the 12th century.

Population development

year	1793	1800	1806	1821	1846	1886	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2012
Residents	214	228	343	232	326	276	156	139	122	125	104	102	92	105
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

In the 19th century the place had over 300 inhabitants at times. The increasing mechanization of agriculture led to a continuous decline in the number of inhabitants to the lows of recent times.