Travel Guide Sabaillan

11 km southwest of Lombez, Sabaillan, with 151 inhabitants, is a quiet village, away from the main traffic routes. This vast commune of hillsides interspersed with valleys with well-marked slopes is bounded by several rivers: the Gesse river to the east, the Marcaoué to the west, the Ricaut stream to the south and the Moysenne to the north. From the Middle Ages to the Revolution, two entities constituted the jurisdiction of Labarthe-Sabaillan. Labarthe, in the south-east of the current commune is a seigniory with a castle and a church. The castle several times quoted falls in ruin in the 15th century. The church dedicated to the martyr Saint-Laurent, annex of the parish of Sabaillan, was destroyed during the Revolution. Sabaillan belonged until the 14th century to the Hospitallers of the Commanderie de Cabas who owned land there, then to the Knights of Malta. This Commandery was destroyed by the Protestants in the 16th century. In the archives, there is a reference to the death in Sabaillan of a poor and pious ploughman aged 106 years old, from Saint-Elix, just next door, whose old age was "most robust". The 13th century mill on the Gesse, now restored as a private house, was an important element in local life. The present church dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption was built and decorated from 1905 to 1911 in the neo-gothic style. The Gallo-Roman head placed on the east wall of the church's chevet and in front of the building a wrought iron cross erected in 1818 are noteworthy. Among the local heritage we can also mention the old border (tenant farm) with a dovecote on the site of Cap de Bosc (private property) or the 19th century crosses that punctuate the crossroads. Sabaillan is an agricultural commune run by cattle breeders, a pig fattener, a fattened duck producer, a producer and processor of organic fruit and vegetables. The commune is home to the only canoe rental company in the region. A picnic table offers a view of the Pyrenees on a communal path, at the crossroads of the D566 which goes to the village. The local festival of Sabaillan takes place on the 2nd weekend of October.