Tarbes Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Tarbes

Tarba

Prefecture and commune

Tarbes, Musée des Beaux-Arts

Coat of arms

Tarbes

Location in France

Tarbes

Location in Occitanie

Country

Chief town of 3 cantons

Intercommunality

Le Grand Tarbes

Area

15.33 km² (5.92 sq mi)

Population

(2014)

40,900

• Density

2,668/km² (6,910/sq mi)

Tarbais(es)

• Summer (DST)

INSEE/Postal code

65440 /65000

Elevation

284–326 m (932–1,070 ft)
(avg. 304 m or 997 ft)

Website

www.tarbes.fr

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Tarbes (Occitan: Tarba) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is part of the historical region of Gascony and is the capital since 1790 of the Hautes-Pyrénées department.

It is the second largest metropolitan area of the old Midi-Pyrénées region, after Toulouse.

Name
History
Geography
- Neighboring municipalities
- Climate
Population
Administration
- Sister cities
Transport
Education
Gallery
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

Name

The city is named for the first time during the 5th century like Civitas Turba ubi castrum Bigorra. It is also an important city of the Novempopulania. Gregory of Tours, in the 7th century, called the city as Talvam vicum.

During the Middle Ages, the city was named as Tarbe (1214), Tursa, Tarvia (1284) and also Tarbia.

History

Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède cathedral, Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées, France).

A small town founded in the 3rd century B.C. became a Roman colony under the name of Tarba. It was destroyed by the Vikings in 840 and rebuilt by the Bishop of Bigorre or Tarbes.

From the twelfth century on, Tarbes became the capital of the County of Bigorre. During the religious wars, the cathedral was burnt in 1569 by Protestants but the bishop had it rebuilt in 1652.

In 1790, Tarbes became the capital of the new department of Hautes-Pyrénées.

Geography

Tarbes is located in the southwest of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, in a fertile plain of the valley of the river Adour, at 20 km (12 mi) to the northeast of Lourdes, 70 km (43 mi) to the southeast of Auch, 144 km (89 mi) to the east of Bayonne and 155 km (96 mi) to the southwest of Toulouse.

It has an area of 15.33 km² (6 sq mi) and its average altitude is 304 m (997 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 311 m (1,020 ft).

Two rivers flow through the city: the Adour by the east and the Échez by the west.

Neighboring municipalities

Tarbes and its neighboring *communes*

The following municipalities (communes) are around Tarbes:

To the north: Andrest, Bazet (going to Bordeaux)
To the northeast: Orleix, Aureilhan (going to Auch)
To the east: Séméac (going to Saint-Gaudens, Toulouse)
To the southeast: Soues, Barbazan-Debat
To the south: Laloubère, Horgues (going to Bagnères-de-Bigorre)
To the southwest: Juillan, Ossun, Hibarette, Odos (going to Lourdes, Argelès-Gazost)
To the west: Ibos (going to Pau, Bayonne)
To the northwest: Bordères-sur-l'Échez, Oursbelille

Climate

Tarbes has an oceanic climate with relatively hot summers, mild winters and abundant rainfall, Cfb in the Köppen climate classification.

Climate data for Tarbes, France (altitude 360m, 1981–2010) (Source: Météo-France, Infoclimat.fr)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	10.3 (50.5)	11.3 (52.3)	14.2 (57.6)	15.8 (60.4)	19.5 (67.1)	22.8 (73.0)	25.1 (77.2)	25.2 (77.4)	22.8 (73.0)	19.0 (66.2)	13.7 (56.7)	11.0 (51.8)	17.6 (63.6)
Average low °C (°F)	1.0 (33.8)	1.5 (34.7)	3.7 (38.7)	5.6 (42.1)	9.5 (49.1)	12.8 (55.0)	14.9 (58.8)	14.9 (58.8)	11.9 (53.4)	8.7 (47.7)	4.3 (39.7)	1.8 (35.2)	7.6 (45.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	95.0 (3.74)	81.1 (3.19)	87.0 (3.43)	111.7 (4.40)	111.6 (4.39)	78.0 (3.07)	56.0 (2.20)	68.1 (2.68)	71.6 (2.82)	88.1 (3.47)	102.5 (4.04)	96.7 (3.81)	1,047.4 (41.24)
Source 1: climat.meteofrance.com
Source 2: infoclimat.fr

Population

The inhabitants of Tarbes are known, in French, as Tarbais (women: Tarbaises).

The city of Tarbes has a population, in 2014, of 40,900; its population density is of 2,668 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Tarbes

Administration

Tarbes is the prefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department since 1790. It is also the capital of three Cantons:

Tarbes-1, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,514 inhabitants) (2014)
Tarbes-2, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,402 inhabitants) (2014)
Tarbes-3, formed with a part of Tarbes (13,984 habitants) (2014)

It is part of the intercommunality Le Grand Tarbes (French: Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Tarbes).

Sister cities

Tarbes is twinned with:

Huesca, Spain, since 7 May 1964
Altenkirchen, Germany, since 24 June 1972

Transport

The Gare de Tarbes railway station offers direct connections with Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Bayonne and other cities in the region. There is a motorway that connects Tarbes with Bayonne and Toulouse. Tarbes is also served by the small Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport situated 10 kilometers away of the city centre.