From Lannemezan to the Baronnies in the Gers Pyrénées

Description

From Lannemezan to the Baronnies by Marie-Claire Thuron • Lacour, 2013, octavo format, paperback, 250 pp. • • This canton spans two distinct geographical areas: the Lannemezan Plateau and the Baronnies hills, with two river systems: the "Gascon" rivers (Baïses, Gers, Save, etc.), tributaries of the Garonne, and the Adour tributary Arros. Historically a land of heaths, it shares a common identity marked by prehistoric tumuli, the Château de Mauvezin with Gaston Fébus, the Escaladieu Abbey, and the "Bastide" of Lannemezan. Traditional rural life, with practices like pig-slaughtering festivals and threshing, fairs, and markets in Lannemezan, Bourg-Bigorre, and Capvern-les-Bains, forms the cultural foundation. Modernization has brought industrialization to the main town, scientific activities to Campistrous, and thermalism development to Capvern. Old and contemporary texts offer an incomplete yet enriching journey through this canton.