Saint-Béat

Saint- Béat is a commune of 390 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Haute- Garonne and the Région Midi -Pyrénées. The inhabitants are called Saint- Béatais.

Geography

The municipality of Saint- Béat is located in the Pyrenees, in the south of the Haute -Garonne. The town itself is situated in the valley of the Garonne, at the foot of the Pic du Gar about 33 km southeast of Saint- Gaudens. He is traffic- powered national 125 of the route, the SNCF train station is Marignac -Saint- Béat.

History

According to legend, the town is named after a local saint, the missionary of the Beauce, named, is said to have also killed a dragon.

In ancient times, the area around Saint- Béat was called passage Lupi ( " Wolf - ford " ), because the hunting way of hungry wolves Pyrenees from the Val d' Aran led here over a ford in the Garonne. Since the location and erected here Citadel held a key position in the Garonne valley, he was also named clé de la France ( "Key to France " ), which comes in the arms of the city expressed. From the Gallo- Roman period several dedicatory inscriptions have been found for the deity Erriapus.

Today Saint- Béat is known for its marble quarries, which, according to some findings include initially, had already been used by the Romans. They are therefore called brèche romaine ( " Roman quarry "). A regional tradition reports, Trajan's Column in Rome had been built of this marble, which has been shown to not be true. Columns of the monastery in Saint -Bertrand -de- Comminges and some fountains and statues in the park of Versailles, however, are actually built from this marble. Today, the Festival de sculpture de marbre for young sculptor takes place here.

For a long time Saint- Béat the gathering place for donkeys and mules that were driven over the mountains to Spain. Flooding in flood - Garonne and stone chips after thunderstorms were a constant threat to residents. In 1999 was the site of the epicenter of an earthquake of intensity 4.8.

From 1914 to 1953 reversed an electric tramway line from Marignac Saint- Béat to Pont- du- Roy.

The Marshal, Minister of War and Governor of Madagascar, Joseph Gallieni (1849-1916), was born in the village, as well as the Napoleonic General Jean Léonard Barrié (1762 - 1848) and the frescoes painter Romain Cazes ( 1810-1881 ).

Attractions

A balcony of a house in the village is said to have served the playwright Edmond Rostand as a model for the famous balcony scene in verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac.

In addition to the Roman quarry the castle with a chapel and the church Saint- Béat Saint -Privat treasury are ( classified as a monument historique in 1926 and 1994), both from the 12th century, well worth seeing. In the church, the relics of Saint Béat and Saint Privat are buried in a grave. The Chapelle de Gery, Chapelle de Ladivert and Chapelle troglodytique ( Felsenhöhlenbau ) Saint- Roch, as well as the birthplace of Marshal Gallieni also among the tourist attractions.

Breche romaine

Castle with chapel

Saint- Béat Saint-Privat

Chapelle Saint -Roch

Gallieni Memorial