Lourdes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lourdes
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Lourdes with the Sanctuary of Our Lady
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 Lourdes
Location in France
Lourdes
Location in Occitanie
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| Country | France | |
| Region | Occitanie | |
| Department | Hautes-Pyrénées | |
| Arrondissement | Argelès-Gazost | |
| Canton | Lourdes-1 and Lourdes-2 |
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| Intercommunality | Le Pays de Lourdes | |
| Area
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36.94 km2 (14.26 sq mi) | |
| Population
(2014)
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14,361 | |
| • Density | 388.77/km2 (1,006.90/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Lourdais | |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) | |
| INSEE/Postal code |
65286 /65100
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| Elevation | 343–960 m (1,125–3,150 ft) (avg. 652 m or 2,139 ft) |
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| Website | www.lourdes.fr | |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | ||
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Lourdes (Occitan: Lorda) is a town and commune in the southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées department. It is in the first Pyrenean foothills in the Occitanie region, in southwestern France.
Lourdes was originally a small unremarkable market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. At that time the most prominent feature was the fortified castle which rises up from the centre of the town on a rock. Following the claims that there were apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Christian pilgrimage.
Today Lourdes has a population of around 15,000 inhabitants but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season. Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France after Paris with about 270 establishments.
It is the joint seat of the diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes.
Geography
Lourdes is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of Aneto, Montaigu, and Vignemale (3,298m), while around the town there are three summits reaching up to 1,000 m, which are known as the Béout, the Petit Jer and the Grand Jer.
It has an area of 36.94 km2 (14 sq mi) and its average altitude is 550 m (1,800 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 400 m (1,300 ft).
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Peyrouse | Poueyferré, Bartrès | Adé, Julos | |
| Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre, Omex |  |
Lézignanr | ||
 Lourdes  |
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| Ségus, Ossen | Aspin-en-Lavedan | Jarret, Saint-Créac, Lugagnan |
Population
The inhabitants of Lourdes are known, in French, as Lourdais (women: Lourdaises).
Lourdes has a population, in 2014, of 14,361, and its population density is of 388.8 inhabitants/km2.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Waggon pulled by two oxen in front of Château fort de Lourdes in 1843, by Eugène de Malbos
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Lourdes 1994
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The Château Fort in Lourdes
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Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Grotto
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Mosaic in the Rosary Basilica
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The apparition at Lourdes, represented in a cave
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See also
In Spanish: Lourdes (Altos Pirineos) para niños
