Tarbes facts for kids

Tarbes
	Tarbes; Tarba
	Tarbes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
	Coat of arms
Administration
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Hautes-Pyrénées
Arrondissement	Tarbes
Canton	Chief town of 5 cantons
Intercommunality	Grand Tarbes
Mayor	Gérard Trémège; (2014-2020)
Statistics
Elevation	284–326 m (932–1,070 ft); (avg. 304 m or 997 ft*)
Land area1	15.33 km2 (5.92 sq mi)
Population2	41,664 (2012)
- Density	2,718/km2 (7,040/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	65440/ 65000
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.
	2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

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

The people of this city are called (their demonym) Tarbais(es). It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, after Toulouse.

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).. With a population in 2012 of 41,664, its population density is of 2,717.8 inhabitants/km².

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)	25.1 (77.2)	25.2 (77.4)	22.8 (73)	19.0 (66.2)	13.7 (56.7)	11.0 (51.8)	17.56 (63.61)
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)	14.9 (58.8)	14.9 (58.8)	11.9 (53.4)	8.7 (47.7)	4.3 (39.7)	1.8 (35.2)	7.55 (45.59)
Precipitation mm (inches)	95.0 (3.74)	81.1 (3.193)	87.0 (3.425)	111.7 (4.398)	111.6 (4.394)	78.0 (3.071)	56.0 (2.205)	68.1 (2.681)	71.6 (2.819)	88.1 (3.469)	102.5 (4.035)	96.7 (3.807)	1,047.4 (41.236)
Source #1: climat.meteofrance.com
Source #2: infoclimat.fr

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.

Gallery

The Adour river through Tarbes
Massey garden
Fountain of the Quatre-Vallées
Sainte-Thérèse de Tarbes church

Sister cities

Tarbes is twinned with:

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

Related pages

Images for kids

The Pyrenees seen from Tarbes.
Foundations of an old villa in the Ormeau quarter
Map of the fiefs of Gascocony around 1150
The Gare de Tarbes, around 1900
Brauhauban market, around 1900
An old image of the arsenal
TARMAC and the fields around Ossun.
The Tribunal of Grand Instance (High Court) of Tarbes
The ENIT building
The University Institute of Technology
Fountain of the Quatre-Vallées
The Alhambra Fountain in Tarbes
The fountain in the Place de Verdun
Equestrian statue of Ferdinand Foch
Vault of the cathedral
The Henri Duparc Conservatory
The Massey Garden
Red beret of the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment
Badge of the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment
House of Martial Arts
2006 Tour de France stage held in Tarbes with a large turn out
Bertrand Barère
Bernard Lapasset
Céline Dumerc
Birthplace of Ferdinand Foch
Exterior of the main building
Interior of the departure hall
Interior of the departure hall
Interior of the departure hall
Arsenal building 100 became the Maison des Associations
Building 119 became a cinema complex
Building 103 became the municipal archives
An overhead crane in building 117, which became a leisure complex
Usine de céramique Oustau (Aureilhan, 65).JPG

The Oustau ceramic factory in Aureilhan
The Church of Saint-Anne
Carmel de Tarbes
Carmel de Tarbes
Massey Museum