Sanctuary Our Lady of Lourdes

The first Christian basilica in Tarbes was probably built at the end of the 4th century. In 844, the Normans ravaged Gascony: the city and its church were destroyed, the episcopal seat abandoned. It was not until the 11th century that a new cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The texts then tell us about the cathedral of Sainte-Marie- de-la-Sède (from the Latin sedes: the seat, i. e. the place of residence of the bishop) or Sainte-Marie-de-Bigorre. The cathedral was completely rebuilt between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century. The construction site, spread over a hundred years, was built from east to west. The choir and arms of the transept were built in Romanesque style. Along with Saint-Sever-de-Rustan, Saint-Orens-en-Lavedan and Saint-Savin-en-Lavedan, Tarbes Cathedral is one of the four most important Romanesque churches in Bigorre.

The church of Saint-Martin is located in Orignac in Occitanie (Midi-Pyrénées). It is built on a hillock that was the site of an old defensive enclosure from the 12th and 13th centuries. The church, in its present form, dates from the 15th or 16th centuries. The building has a beautiful roof with five pinnacles, that is topped with a bell tower. Inside the church you can see the remarkable woodwork of the Ferrère brothers and several classified objects, including a beautiful ciborium.

The church of Saint-Martin was first built between 1468 and 1472 on a site opposite the castle of Pau. In the 19th century, the church was too small for the population of Pau and was replaced in 1871 by a new church located a little further east. It was therefore decided to demolish the old church in 1885. The church tower was partially destroyed in 1794, then rebuilt in wood in 1805 before being completely rebuilt when the new Saint-Martin church was built. The new building is of neo-Gothic architecture with a Byzantine influence.