Luz-Saint-Saver

Luz-Saint-Saver is a common department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, in the area the Midday-Pyrenees, in France. A long time simply called Luz, the city took its current name of Luz Saint Saver on April 9th, 1962; it includes the hamlets of Astès and Villenave. Its inhabitants name the luzéens.

It is twinned since February 1977 with the Bavarian city of Höchberg (Mayor: Peter Stichler; more information on the official site of the city).

“Charming old city (...) délicieusement located in a deep triangular valley. Three large rays of day enter there by the three embrasures of the three mountains. When the Spanish miquelets and smugglers arrived of Aragon by the Breach of Roland, they suddenly saw at the end of the obscure throat a great clearness, as is the door of a cellar to those which are inside. They hastened and found a large sun borough enlightened and alive. This borough, they named it Lumière, Luz”, Victor Hugo

Geography

The Gave de Gavarnie and the Gave of the Bastan cross Luz and meet with the downstream of the village to form the Gave of Pau.

Luz was built on the morainic alluvial cone of the torrent of Yse, which joined the gave of Bastan on the level of the city

At all times, the history of the city (and the surrounding villages) was marked by destroying floods but without human loss, which thanks to successive work undertaken upstream (dam on left bank of Bastan decided in 1905, stoppings) today are fortunately controlled:

October 1937: great rising of 30 m ³ /sec of Bastan; caused by strong premature snowfalls, on which fall an enormous quantity from water, softened by a wind of the particularly Saharan south. The gave of Gavarnie also overflows and causes serious damage with the electric factory of Luz.
July 1897: 2 days of continuous rain on snows still present on the heights cause the fast cast iron of these last. An exceptional rising is followed from there, Bastan rolling of enormous blocks of stone. The Barèges-Luz road was carried on several kilometers, as well as the water pipeline of the thermal baths of Barzun, which fed the new hydropathic establishment located at the center of Luz; this one never will be used and destroyed soon again.
1788 : a natural dam with Héas yields under the pressure of water; the enormous vagueness formed by the floods of the lake descends on Luz: the bridge of Saint-Saver is carried, much damage are noted in the bordering properties, the majority of the bridges downstream are strongly damaged.
20 & June 21st 1765
December 18th 1765
June 4th 1762: believed of Bastan, caused by the overflow of the Lake Oncet (avalanches breaking the thick ice which recovered it)
September 1751: great rising which carries the Bridge of Pescadère, constuit in 1736
July 2nd 1678: torrential rains make swell Bastan in proportions such as it leaves its bed and devastates of them banks until Luz

All the valley of Luz (and more largely the whole of Pyérénées) are located in a zone strongly sensitive to the Earthquakes , of which most terrible (intensity MSK=VIII-IX) the June 21st, 1660 in a zone ranging between Saint-Savin was felt, Bagnères de Bigorre and Luz and caused large damage in the area, a dozen victims as well as a certain number of natural changes (chaos, new natural lakes) in mountain. Of an expansion of more than four hundred kilometers, it thus could be perceived as far as the Vendée where Louis XIV and Marie-Therese of Austria whose union had just been celebrated were the witnesses. Several times per annum, of small earthquakes whose epicentre is more remote make feel: their magnitude in general lies between 2 and 2,5 with however some rarer seisms approaching a magnitude of 5 on the scale of Richter.

latest to date, to which the epicentre was very close to Luz (latitude 42°99 NR and longitude 0°05 W) occurred the November 17th, 2006 with 19:19 (magnitude 4,9). The director of the cabinet of the Prefect declared: " Fortunately, there was no casualty to regret, even light. No major damage was noted either, the seism having just damaged two chimneys in the région."

History

Administration

Demography

Economy

Some official data (census of 1999) make it possible to better include/understand the activity of the city (trade, public services, tourist pole, very little agriculture)

Activity ratio (working-age population, having an employment): 39%, of which 45% are women
the Chômage touches 7,5% of the total active population with a on-representation in the age bracket 15-24 years (8,6%) and woman (9,4%)
Type of activity: 76% employee job, 19% public office, 35% precarious employment (CDD, helped training courses, interim, training, contracts) and… 4 farmers
seasonal Activity: 192 seasonal employment on the tourist pole of Luz during the summer 2005.
Localization: 70% work and resident in Luz

8% of the population is provided education for (87 people)
Niveau of studies of the not provided education for population: 9,5% do not have any diploma, 33% have at least the Baccalaureat or a Professional Patent and 4,4% have a diploma of higher education

The zone of activities of Souscatets includes/understands:

a slaughter-house
the S.I.V.U. (intercommunity association with single vocation) has 2 powerplants: a thermo plant (Souscastets) and a hydro-electric power station (Yse) and employ 7 agents

A casino present historically in the city and recently renovated proposed a Ball and 40 machines with under and employed 18 people. It was closed for economic reason on August 16th, 2006.

A advertizing campaign in the Parisian subway on the topic " Since Luz, you embrace Pyrénées" took place in July 2006.

Culture

Every summer, in July, takes place the festival jazz in Luz
Créée in November 2000 on a joint initiative of the Town hall and House of the Valley, radio of category has noncommercial and of associative type, Fréquence Luz (99.6) emits the every day on line 8:30 with 10:00, 12:00 with 13:00 and 17:30 with 19:00

Sport

The Ski station Luz-Ardiden

The Tour de France

It makes stage with Luz regularly, and the long rise at the ski station (collar except category) in fact a stage very coveted since its 1st appearance with the program of the Turn in 1985 and the hard battle that Bernard Hinault carried out to it to preserve his yellow jersey. Richard Virenque gained there in 1994 after a long solitary escape.

Excursion S pedestrian

The village of Luz Saint Saver is a formidable starting point for many activities because it is with the crossroads of several valleys: the valley of Luz, the valley of Barèges and the valley of Gavarnie. In the car Barèges is with a score of minutes and Gavarnie to a half hour approximately. One can also join Cauterets via Pierrefite in less than one hour the summer.

One will be able thus to visit the zone of Néouvielle on the side of Barèges or to go randonner in the circuses of Gavarnie or Troumouse to the choice.

But one finds also many excursions interesting without moving away too much from the village: Lake Bastampe, Peak of Viscos, Lakes Ardiden, Peak of Ardiden

Others

Of many sports can be practiced thanks to the installations of the city:

Park accrobranche “In oak and ash”
Jump with the rubber band since the bridge Napoleon
Public swimming pool (not - glaze)
Tennis: several beaten ground courts; a tournament open to all is organized every summer
Mur of Escalade to Saint-Saver
Via ferrata

Famous characters

Bernard Druène (1896-1991): soldier with the rank of colonel, but also man of culture and historian of the Pyrenees

Paul Mounicq (1887-1964): player of Rugby to XV to the 9 selections in Team of France and champion of France in 1912

Historical monuments and places

Church known as of Templiers (Hospital of St Jean in fact) built with the XII {{E}} and XIII {{E}} century S. With the XIV {{E}} century, the Hospital ones of St Jean of Jerusalem built ramparts around the church to protect the inhabitants from Luz of the attacks of the Spanish gangsters called “Miquelets”. At that time a large ditch surrounded the church, a drawbridge made it possible to cross it. A few years later, the Notre Dame vault of Pity was built inside the ramparts to require of God to put an end to an epidemic of Black Death which devastated the Toy country about 1650. In 1865, a new door was open to facilitate the entry. More recently a new platform was built

Castle Holy Marie: (ruins). Perched at the top of a rocky outcrop, this castle constituted during the centuries a true strategic place for the valley but also a place of refuge for the populations. Its construction dates from Xe century by the Counts de Bigorre. In XIVe century, they were the Hospital ones of Jean Saint later then the Knights of Malta who occupied it. Then the English took possession until the moment of it when the Count de Clermont in 1404, helped of the inhabitants of the valley ordered by Aougé de Coufitte drove out and thus put a term of it at the English occupation of the valley. The Castle was then little by little abandoned. Its restoration was undertaken in the Eighties thus safeguarding one of the most outstanding vestiges of the history of the valley.

Solférino Vault: this vault with its Byzantine tower was rebuilt in 1859 on the orders of the Emperor Napoleon III, on the ruins of the antique vault Saint Pierre whose construction went back to times when St Jacques évangélisait the north of Spain. For a long time, its priest blessed the herds at the beginning there towards the high pastures of the mountain.
Napoleon Bridge: Napoleon III was éprît of the Pyrenees and made several stays of cure in company of the Eugenie empress. Its philosopher's stone with St Saver will be the concretization of an idea which is expensive to him: to connect, thanks to a bridge, two banks of the Gave of Pau. Initially " américain" , then in " wire of fer" , one will decide finally for a stone bridge of only one arch. Started immediately, under the crook of Mr. Bruniquel, engineer of the Bridges and Chaussées, the work will last two years and will be completed in June 1861. The apron of the bridge is 68 meters length, and is located at 63 Mr. above Gave. The arc which supports it has 42 Mr. diameter. The vault rests directly on the rocks with peak which border Gave. The height of the level of water to the birth of the vault is of 40 Mr.; it is of 63 Mr. to the keystone and 65 Mr. on the level of the bridge.

To perpetuate the memory of the stay of the Emperor and his benefits, the Trade-union Commission of the Valley of Barèges made raise a column of 12 Mr. height, overcome by a colossal eagle, at the Eastern end of the Bridge. The column, formed of 14 rings, is out of stone of Doors. The eagle was made at the marble-mason's yard of Bagnères. The total height is of 14 Mr. the column carries the inscription:

"Their imperial Majesties Napoleon III and the Eugenie Empress, inhabitants of LUZ St SAVER reconnaissants".

The bridge will be delivered to circulation in 1861 and Napoleon III will return to contemplate it in September 1863.

Other bridges on the gave of Gavarnie: they were often destroyed by the floods but systematically rebuilt; the bridge of Hiélandière (ropemaking machine) was surmounted by a small obelisk in 1809 with this inscription " the valley of Barège to the Queen Hortense "

Thermal baths of Saint-Saver: exploited since the 16th century, very attended by the high society at the 19th century for stays of cures (duchess of Angouleme and Berry, Empress Eugenie, English aristocrats), they are recommended still today for the gynaecological affections , in Phlébologie and ORL thanks to their thermal spring at the natural temperature of 33° rich in rare gases, rock salt and sulfur. They were entirely renovated in 1995 and were equipped with an open space of back in shape be like winter. In 2004, this one was packed of a spa in balcony on the gave of Gavarnie and of a stone hammam with the Eastern charm.

References

Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893): the " travel in Pyrénées" , 1858. Illustrations of Gustave Doré
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) remained in the valley of August 30th to the 1° September 1843. It is descended in Luz at Mrs Souberbie. Of his room, the writer drew the church of Luz and the Castle co. many Marie
Photographe S immortalisé the Pyrenees, and in particular Luz because of its many architectural buildings: thus the Count Henri de Lestrange (1853-1926), member of the company of excursion of the amateurs of photography and the French company of photography, administrator of insurance companies and general adviser of Charente, Henri Heuzé (1851-1927), active member of the French company of archeology (general secretary in 1919) or Seraph-Médéric Mieusement (1840-1905), itinerant photographer for the Commission of the historic buildings which wished " to draw up a final list of the buildings whose conservation is of true interest to the point of view of the art".

See too

Hydrotherapy

List of the French thermal spas
List of the winter sports resorts of the Pyrenees

External bonds

official site of Luz-Saint-Saver
official site of the Town hall
the country toy of yesterday in postcards and today in photographs
Mérimée Base - historical Photographs of Luz St Saver
Webcam on the valley of Luz

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