Travel Guide Lestelle-Bétharram

To the east of the department and on the border of Bigorre, Lestelle-Bétharram has the charm of old bastides, in the valley but elevated on a terrace whose orthogonal streets, square square and high defensive embankments recall its past. A place of pilgrimage with its famous sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady, its history began in 1335 with the creation of Lestelle, a star well named by Viscount Gaston II. It was also the time of the foundations of the bastides of Asson de Nay, Monhaut and Bruges. During the 15th century, a Notre-Dame chapel was built in the hamlet of Bétharram, the sanctuary was then built and miracles multiplied so much that the site, nicknamed "Holy Land" became famous and welcomed many believers. In 1570, Protestants outlawed Catholicism in Béarn, religious buildings were destroyed... The church and the monastery are no exception. The current building dates back to 1610. A stone bridge was built in 1687 to facilitate the passage of pilgrims who continued to flock, the place remained one of the most visited and this, from the Kingdom until the Revolution. The seminary was founded in 1808 and Lestelle-Bétharram remains an important religious place with nearly 50,000 visitors per year. In 1992, a study was launched to upgrade the 17th century Notre-Dame chapel, which was classified as a Historic Monument in 1984. In the streets, you will admire the stone door frames with sculpted decorations, especially those of the town hall, which was the former presbytery. Not to be missed: the Museum of the Heritage of the Fathers of Betharram, craft and artistic creations, the Marian sanctuary overlooking the village and the gave of Pau, the reliquary chapel, an expression of religious art of the 1920s, and finally a Calvary and its fifteen evangelical stations, a little further on, with bas-reliefs of neo-Gothic architecture of the 19th century