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104-714: Its spa has been known since the beginning of the 17th century and is the highest in the Pyrenees . It is famous also for the ski resort of Barèges, part of the Domaine du Tourmalet , as well as its landscapes. Barèges village is a small mountain village in the French Pyrenees located in the heart of the Val de la Batsus at the foot of the Col du Tourmalet and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre , which stretches along

208-557: A prime minister after 1700. Without an official position as queen, she was more easily approached by those wishing to have an audience with the king. However, her judgment wasn't infallible and some mistakes were undoubtedly made; replacing the military commander Nicolas Catinat by the Duke of Villeroi in 1701 may be attributed to her, but certainly not the Spanish Succession . As a strongly religious person, Madame de Maintenon had

312-452: A cable car was built by EDF, first for its own use to connect to the tunnel construction site base camp and the refuge of Glère nearby (the remains of the tunnel construction and the base camp have not yet, in 2013, been cleaned). With the development of tourism, the EDF cable car was then slightly modified to be also used by skiers and hikers visiting the refuge. When the piste which now descends to

416-416: A convent. Although Scarron suffered from chronic and crippling pain, Françoise accepted his proposal and the two married in 1652. The match permitted her to gain access to the highest levels of Parisian society, something that would have otherwise been impossible for a girl from an impoverished background. For nine years, she was more a nurse than a wife to Paul who, in turn, gave her exposure to education and

520-453: A fervent Catholic and had her child baptised in her religion. Her paternal grandfather was Agrippa d'Aubigné , a former intimate servant of the late king Henry IV well known for his roles as Protestant general and propagandist. Her godmother was the nine-year-old Suzanne de Baudéan , daughter of the comtesse de Neuillant and the governor of Niort, and her godfather was the duc de la Rochefoucauld , father of François de La Rochefoucauld ,

624-623: A fountain of Or; over all debruised by a pair of skis Argent in bend. List of Successive Mayors In French, the inhabitants of the commune are known as Barégeois ( pronounced [baʁeʒwa] ) or Barégeoises ( [baʁeʒwaz] ). Barèges is situated at the perimeter of the National Parc of the Pyrénées. In and around the village all mountain sports are practiced, such as paragliding, walking, cycling, canyoning/caving, mountain climbing, mountain biking, and more. Barèges

728-445: A good influence on Louis XIV. His wife, Queen Marie Thérèse , who for years had been rudely treated by Madame de Montespan, openly declared she had never been so well-treated as at this time. "Madame de Maintenon knows how to love. There would be great pleasure in being loved by her," said the king, Louis XIV. He probably asked her to become his mistress at that time. Though she later claimed she didn't yield to his advances ("Nothing

832-520: A high altitude route. In addition, there are numerous marked and unmarked trails throughout the region. Pirena is a dog- mushing competition held in the Pyrenees. Ski resorts in the Pyrenees include: Fran%C3%A7oise d%27Aubign%C3%A9, marquise de Maintenon Françoise d'Aubigné (27 November 1635 – 15 April 1719), known first as Madame Scarron and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon ( French: [madam də mɛ̃t(ə)nɔ̃] ),

936-485: A house on Rue de Vaugirard , provided with a large income and staff of servants. Scarron took care to keep the house well-guarded and discreet, doing many duties as secretary and caretaker. Her care for the infant Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine (born 1670) first brought her to the attention of Louis XIV, though he was initially repelled by her strong temper and strict religious practice. After Louis Auguste and his siblings were legitimised on 20 December 1673, she moved to

1040-453: A lady-in-waiting to the new queen of Portugal , Marie-Françoise de Nemours . Before setting off, however, she met Madame de Montespan , who was secretly already the king's mistress. Montespan took such a fancy to Scarron that she had the king reinstate her pension, which enabled the latter to stay in Paris. In 1669, Madame de Montespan placed her second child by Louis XIV with Madame Scarron in

1144-600: A letter to her mother: "Je vous porterais du barège de Barèges" (I would bring you some barège from Barèges). From upstream to downstream on the Bastan: Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain . They extend nearly 500 km (310 mi) from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching

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1248-550: A maximum altitude of 3,404 metres (11,168 ft) at the peak of Aneto . For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between Spain and France, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. Historically, the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre extended on both sides of the mountain range. In Greek mythology , Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene

1352-533: A plea for tolerance on behalf of the Huguenots might lead her enemies to claim that she was still a secret Protestant. In 1692, Pope Innocent XII granted her the right of visitation over all the convents in France. Unlike what others believed, Madame de Maintenon mainly used her power for personal patronage- for example, in the frequent economical assistance she gave to her brother Charles d'Aubigné, Comte d'Aubigné . In

1456-420: A serpent and runs away to the woods, afraid that her father will be angry. Alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, finding the girl's lacerated remains. As is often the case in stories of this hero, the sober Hercules responds with heartbroken grief and remorse at

1560-500: A strong influence on her husband, who no longer had open mistresses and banned operas during Lent . Some have accused her of responsibility for the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and for the dragonnades , but recent investigations have shown that she opposed the cruelties of the dragonnades , though she was pleased with the conversions they produced. She told her confessor that in view of her own Protestant upbringing, she feared that

1664-482: A thermal springs. It is not known when its hot springs were discovered. Tradition has it that the shepherds were the first users. They had noticed that sick or injured sheep came to soak in the hot and sulphurous waters. Its warm sulphurous waters first became generally known in 1675 when they were visited by Madame de Maintenon and Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine , son of Louis XIV . The commune owes its current name to Madame de Maintenon who, during her stay in 1675 in

1768-530: A vocation as a teacher. After Paul Scarron's death in 1660, the Queen Mother Anne of Austria continued his pension to his widow and even increased it to 2,000 livres a year, thus enabling Françoise to remain in literary society. After his mother's death in 1666, Louis XIV suspended the pension. Once again in straitened circumstances and having spent several years living off the charity of her friends, Madame Scarron prepared to leave Paris for Lisbon as

1872-567: Is 8.9 °C (48.0 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,235.3 mm (48.63 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 16.0 °C (60.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around 2.5 °C (36.5 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Barèges was 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) on 16 August 1987; the coldest temperature ever recorded

1976-493: Is also the second oldest ski resort in France, and when the funicular was opened in 1936 the resort became a tourist destination. The resort, now linked with La Mongie , is the largest ski area in the French Pyrénées. The historic Funicular of Ayré started from the centre of Barèges and had an intermediate stop on the height of the plateau of Lienz. Later in 1947 it was extended and allowed to reach an altitude of 2005 m on

2080-519: Is an astronomical observatory located at 2877 metres on top of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre in the French Pyrenees. Construction of the observatory began in 1878 and the 8-metre dome was completed in 1908. The observatory housed a powerful mechanical equatorial reflector which was used in 1909 to formally discredit the Martian canal theory. A 1.06-metre (42 in) telescope was installed in 1963, funded by NASA and

2184-502: Is in this part of the chain that granitic masses prevail. Also moving from west to east, there is a change in the composition of the flora, with the change becoming most evident as one passes the centre of the mountain chain from which point the Corbières Massif stretch north-eastwards towards the central plateau of France. Though the difference in latitude is only about 1°, in the west the flora resembles that of central Europe while in

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2288-468: Is insufficient snowfall to cause their development. Glaciers are confined to the northern slopes of the central Pyrenees, and do not descend, like those of the Alps, far down into the valleys but rather have their greatest lengths along the direction of the mountain chain. They form, in fact, in a narrow zone near the crest of the highest mountains. Here, as in the other great mountain ranges of central Europe, there

2392-407: Is observed at least 50% of the time above 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) between December and April. A still more marked effect of the preponderance of rainfall in the western half of the chain is seen in the vegetation. The lower mountains in the extreme west are wooded, but the extent of forest declines as one moves eastwards. The eastern Pyrenees are peculiarly wild and barren, all the more since it

2496-514: Is often closed in winter or requires special equipment). The pass road is dangerous and the small resort does not allow extended parking for numerous ski vehicles so this station has been closed to non-resident passenger vehicles which must remain parked at Tournaboup and reach Super Barèges by the Caoubère and Tourmalet chairlifts which connect Barèges to La Mongie. Barèges-Gavarnie is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for French Mutton. This AOC

2600-408: Is so clever as to conduct one's self irreproachably," ) the king spent much of his spare time with the royal governess by the late 1670s, discussing politics, economics, and religion. After the death of Marie-Thérèse, Françoise married Louis in a private ceremony by François de Harlay de Champvallon , archbishop of Paris . It is believed that in attendance were Père la Chaise , the king's confessor ,

2704-400: Is substantial evidence of a much wider expanse of glaciation during the glacial periods . The best evidence of this is in the valley of Argeles Gazost, between Lourdes and Gavarnie, in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées. The annual snow-line varies in different parts of the Pyrenees from about 2,700 to 2,800 metres (8,900 to 9,200 ft) above sea level. In average the seasonal snow

2808-429: Is the complete list of the summits of the Pyrenees above 3,000 metres: Both sides of the Pyrenees are popular spots for winter sports such as alpine skiing and mountaineering . The Pyrenees are also a good place for athletes to do high-altitude training in the summertime, such as by bicycling and cross-country running. In the summer and the autumn , the Pyrenees are usually featured in two of cycling's grand tours,

2912-536: Is the name of a town in Celtic Europe . According to Silius Italicus , she was the virgin daughter of Bebryx , a king in Mediterranean Gaul by whom the hero Hercules was given hospitality during his quest to steal the cattle of Geryon during his famous Labours . Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his host's daughter. Pyrene gives birth to

3016-556: The Maison royale de Saint-Louis , a school for girls from impoverished noble families, which had a significant influence on female education under the Ancien Régime . After Louis XIV's death in 1715, Madame de Maintenon retired to Saint-Cyr , where she died four years later at the age of 83. Françoise d'Aubigné was born on 27 November 1635, in Niort , France . A plaque suggests her birthplace

3120-617: The Age of Enlightenment , one aim of which was to promote educational equality between sexes to both improve society with more capable workers and help lower-class women escape their condition and prostitution. After her husband's death in 1715, Françoise retired to the Maison royale de Saint-Louis at Saint-Cyr-l'École with a pension of 48,000 livres by the Duc d'Orléans and regent of France. She continued to receive visitors at Saint-Cyr, including Tsar Peter

3224-589: The Ariège area, the mean elevation is remarkably uniform until a sudden decline occurs in the easternmost portion of the chain known as the Albères . Most foothills of the Pyrenees are on the Spanish side, where there is a large and complex system of ranges stretching from Spanish Navarre , across northern Aragon and into Catalonia, almost reaching the Mediterranean coast with summits reaching 2,600 m (8,500 ft). At

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3328-549: The Catalan counties . Effectively, as the descendants of Charlemagne , the kings of France have always retained their rights over the old Marca Hispanica . In this way the Vallée libre de Barèges (Free Valley of Barèges) was established. Administratively, the town of Bains was a dependency of the village of Betpouey located downstream on the Bastan. A small mountain village was built around

3432-595: The Château de Saint-Germain and became the Governess of the Children of France , one of the very few people permitted to speak candidly with the king as an equal. Madame de Sévigné observed that Louis XIV was charmed by having someone who would speak to him in this way. Due to her hard work, the king rewarded Scarron with 200,000 livres , which she used to purchase the property at Maintenon in 1674. In 1675, Louis XIV gave her

3536-704: The Pyrenees National Park ). The independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees . Physiographically , the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections: the Atlantic (or Western), the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees. Together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division. In

3640-708: The Tour de France held annually in July and the Vuelta a España held in September. The stages held in the Pyrenees are often crucial legs of both tours, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators to the region. Three main long-distance footpaths run the length of the mountain range: the GR 10 across the northern slopes, the GR 11 across the southern slopes, and the HRP which traverses peaks and ridges along

3744-449: The caverns of Ariège, the principal genera of which are Anophthalmus and Adelops . The Pyrenean ibex , an endemic subspecies of the Iberian ibex , became extinct in January 2000; another subspecies, the western Spanish ibex , was introduced into the area, with the population numbering over 400 individuals as of 2020. The native brown bear population was hunted to near-extinction in

3848-538: The "Gave de Bastan", is a right tributary of the Gave de Gavarnie and has its source in the north-east of the commune near the Col du Tourmalet whose slopes and the slopes of the surrounding peaks supply water. The Ruisseau d'Aygues Cluses rises in the south-east of the commune and flows north to join the Bastan. The Ruisseau de la Glère flows north from the Lac de la Glère in the south-west of

3952-495: The 1990s, but its numbers rebounded in 1996 when three bears were brought from Slovenia . The bear population has bred successfully, and there are now believed to be about 15 brown bears in the central region around Fos , with only four native ones still living in the Aspe Valley . Principal nature reserves and national parks: In 1997, part of the Pyrenees (including Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park and Pyrenees National Park)

4056-516: The Atlantic Ocean over the Bay of Biscay . After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is left dry over the eastern Pyrenees. The winter average temperature is −2 °C (28 °F). Sections of the mountain range vary in more than one respect. There are some glaciers in the western and snowy central Pyrenees, but there are no glaciers in the eastern Pyrenees because there

4160-599: The Aygat locality which was also used for the Gondola lift going up to the plateau of Lienz. In order to ski since 2002 the ascent has been by car or bus from the D918 road (along the Bastan) to the departure point for the lifts at Tournaboup which has been built with ample parking, ticketing, and an ESF office. It is sometimes possible to access Super Barèges via the Col du Tourmalet (the road

4264-590: The Earth's crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in the Eocene Epoch. The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, while in the western part the granite peaks are flanked by layers of limestone . The massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant to erosion , as well as weak glacial development. The upper parts of

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4368-560: The Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania , but rejects it as fabulosa , highly fictional. Other classical sources derived the name from the Greek word for fire, Ancient Greek : πῦρ (IPA: /pŷːr/ ). According to Greek historian Diodorus Siculus "in ancient times, we are told, certain herdsmen left a fire and the whole area of the mountains was entirely consumed; and due to this fire, since it raged continuously day after day,

4472-547: The Great of Russia. He was seated at a chair by the foot of her bed and asked what her illness was, to which she replied, "Old age". She asked what brought him to her room, to which he replied, "I came to see everything worthy of note that France contains." He later remarked to his aides that she had rendered a great service to the King and nation. Françoise died on 15 April 1719, at the age of 83. Her will expressed her wishes to be buried in

4576-477: The King's service. The school began at Rueil and moved to Noisy-le-Roi until the King endowed Saint-Cyr , a village 5 km west of Versailles, at her request by using the funds of the Abbey of St. Denis . According to her wishes, the education would be different from that traditionally practised in convents, where education was minimal and principally centred on religion: her students were educated to be ladies of

4680-455: The King, said mass at the dead of night in one of the King's cabinets at Versailles. Bontemps, governor of Versailles, chief valet on duty, and the most confidential of the four, was present at this mass, at which the monarch and La Maintenon were married in presence of Harlay, Archbishop of Paris, as diocesan, of Louvois (both of whom drew from the King a promise that he would never declare this marriage), and of Montchevreuil... The satiety of

4784-546: The Marquis de Montchevreuil, the Chevalier de Forbin and Alexandre Bontemps , a valet with whom the groom was very close. Owing to the disparity in their social status, the marriage was morganatic , meaning that Madame de Maintenon wasn't openly acknowledged as the king's wife and didn't become queen. No official documentation of the marriage exists, but that it took place is nevertheless accepted by historians. Biographers have dated

4888-704: The Northwest margin of Gondwana , where they formed a lateral continuity of neighbouring areas, such as the Montagne Noire and the Mouthoumet massifs and Southwestern territory of Sardinia . Between 100 and 150 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period, the Bay of Biscay fanned out , pushing present-day Spain against France and applying intense compressional pressure to large layers of sedimentary rock . The intense pressure and uplifting of

4992-514: The Place de Barèges (Town Square), then the HLM parking, camping area, and seven houses but there were no injuries reported. The Thermal Baths of Barzun were also heavily damaged. The stricken town was evacuated on June 19 through an unusual opening of the Col du Tourmalet which is always under snow. Barèges has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ). The average annual temperature in Barèges

5096-517: The Pyrenees contain low-relief surfaces forming a peneplain . This peneplain originated no earlier than in Late Miocene times. Presumably it formed at height as extensive sedimentation raised the local base level considerably. Conspicuous features of Pyrenean scenery are: The highest waterfall is Gavarnie (462 m or 1,515 ft), at the head of the Gave de Pau ; the Cirque de Gavarnie , in

5200-454: The Queen. In her interior, the title of Majesty was given her, and the King, when he had to speak of her, only used the word Madame, without adding Maintenon, that having become too familiar and trivial." Historians have often remarked upon Madame de Maintenon's political influence, which was considerable. She was regarded as the next most powerful person after the king, considered the equivalent of

5304-760: The Romans), statuary white marbles as well as coloured marbles used to decorate the royal palaces of the Louvre and Versailles in France and the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. Mineral springs are abundant and remarkable, and especially noteworthy are the hot springs . The hot springs, among which those of Les Escaldes in Andorra, Panticosa and Lles in Spain, Ax-les-Thermes , Bagnères-de-Luchon and Eaux-Chaudes in France may be mentioned, are sulfurous and mostly situated high, near

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5408-684: The Western Pyrenees, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, the average elevation gradually increases from west to east. The Central Pyrenees extend eastward from the Somport pass to the Aran Valley , and they include the highest summits of this range: In the Eastern Pyrenees, with the exception of one break at the eastern extremity of the Pyrénées Ariégeoises in

5512-407: The actions of his darker self, and lays Pyrene to rest tenderly, demanding that the surrounding geography join in mourning and preserve her name: "struck by Herculean voice, the mountaintops shudder at the ridges; he kept crying out with a sorrowful noise 'Pyrene!' and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back 'Pyrene!' ... The mountains hold on to the wept-over name through the ages." Pliny

5616-646: The area are Spanish, French, Aragonese , Catalan (in Andorra and in Northern and Southern Catalonia ), and Basque . Also spoken, to a lesser degree, is the Occitan language , consisting of the Gascon and Languedocien dialects in France and the Aranese dialect in the Aran Valley . An important feature of rural life in the Pyrenees is ' transhumance ', the moving of livestock from

5720-513: The author of the famous Maxims . In 1639, Constant was released from prison and went with Jeanne and Françoise to the French island colony of Martinique in the West Indies. Jeanne was a strict mother, allowing her children few liberties. She gave them a Protestant education despite their Catholic baptism. Constant returned to France, leaving his family behind in Martinique, causing Jeanne to try to be "mother and father" to their children until they also returned to France, in 1647. Within months of

5824-411: The commune to join the Bastan east of the village. Two small streams rise south of the village and flow north to join the Bastan: the Ruisseau de Rioulet and the Ruisseau du Pontis. The mountainous plateau that forms the largest area of the commune is dotted with small lakes that feed the streams flowing to the Bastan. In February 2013 an avalanche blocked the Bastan at the height of the Barèges Spa and

5928-410: The contact of the granite with the stratified rocks. The lower springs, such as those of Bagnères-de-Bigorre ( Hautes-Pyrénées ), Rennes-les-Bains ( Aude ), and Campagne-sur-Aude (Aude), are mostly selenitic and not hot. The amount of precipitation the range receives, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees because of the moist air that blows in from

6032-518: The department) linked to late melting of most of the winter snow, the village of Barèges was seriously damaged on 18 and 19 June 2013. The Bastan river overflowed so violently that several buildings and parts of roads were destroyed with the cutting of electricity and telephone services. No deaths were however reported. The President of the Republic, François Hollande , visited to see the damage on 7 July 2013. Blazon: Party per bend, at 1 Gules, an izard of Or contourned regardant to dexter; at 2 Azure,

6136-473: The east it is distinctly Mediterranean in character. The Pyrenees are nearly as rich in endemic species as the Alps, and among the most remarkable instances of that endemism is the occurrence of the monotypic genus Xatardia (family Apiaceae ), which grows only on a high alpine pass between the Val d'Eynes and Catalonia . Other examples include Arenaria montana , Bulbocodium vernum , and Ranunculus glacialis . The genus most abundantly represented in

6240-476: The eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees . On the French side the slopes of the main range descend abruptly and there are no foothills except in the Corbières Massif in the northeastern corner of the mountain system. The Pyrenees are older than the Alps : their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. During Ediacaran to Ordovician times, Pyrenees were located at

6344-573: The effect of thermal shocks. No big cities are in the range itself. The largest urban area close to the Pyrenees is Toulouse ( Haute-Garonne ), France with a population of 1,330,954 in its metropolitan area. On the Spanish side Pamplona ( Navarre ) is the closest city, with a population of 319,208 in its metropolitan area. Inside the Pyrenees the main towns are Andorra la Vella (22,256) and Escaldes-Engordany (14,367) in Andorra, Jaca (12,813) and La Seu d'Urgell (12,252) in Spain, and Lourdes (13,976) and Foix (10,046) in France. The following

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6448-420: The family of Françoise's godmother, an order was issued that she had to be educated in a convent. Françoise disliked convent life, mainly because she received only limited education and freedom. Her lessons included basic mathematics , French , Latin , and domestic work. The main emphasis was on religion and liturgy , with no opening onto the secular world. Despite her disgust, Françoise grew to love one of

6552-450: The family's return, both parents died, and the children went to the care of their paternal aunt, Madame de Villette . The Villettes' home, Mursay, became a happy memory for Françoise, who had been in the care of her aunt and uncle before leaving for Martinique. The de Villettes were wealthy and took good care of the children, but were ardent Protestants and continued to school their nieces and nephews in their beliefs. When this became known to

6656-443: The farms in the valleys up to the higher grounds of the mountains for the summer. In this way the farming communities could keep larger herds than the lowland farms could support on their own. The principal animals moved were cows and sheep , but historically most members of farming families also moved to the higher pastures along with their animals, so they also took with them pigs , horses and chickens . Transhumance thus took

6760-404: The first military hospital for the comfort of hydrotherapy . In 1762 a flood from the Bastan took away 17 houses in the small spa town. Barèges appears as Bareges les Bains on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version. In 1946 the old town of Bains , now more commonly known as simply Barèges , was separated from its former parent of Betpouey as the interests of Betpouey and

6864-537: The foot of Canigou in Pyrénées-Orientales long ago. Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, but the French side has beds of lignite . The open pit of Trimoun near the commune of Luzenac (Ariège) is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe. There are many marble quarries in the Pyrenees, most of which were opened by the Romans in ancient times. Quarried intermittently, they provided prestigious marbles such as Grand Antique (used in Rome and Constantinople by

6968-456: The form of a mass biannual migration, moving uphill in May or June and returning to the farms in September or October. During the summer period, the families would live in basic stone cabins in the high mountains. Nowadays, industrialisation and changing agriculture practices have diminished the custom. However, the importance of transhumance continues to be recognised through its celebration in popular festivals. The Pic du Midi Observatory

7072-405: The girl to Paris and introduced her to sophisticated people, who became vital contacts that she would use in the future. In her excursion with Madame de Neuillant, Françoise met accomplished poet Paul Scarron , who was 25 years her senior, and began to correspond with him. He counted King Louis XIII 's favourites among his patrons and offered her marriage or pay her dowry so that she might enter

7176-417: The girls at Saint-Cyr. Maison royale de Saint-Louis is considered to have greatly influenced the demands of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women , the first women's political interest group founded in 1793. Their successful attempt to link gender equality through the educational system's reformation and the enforcement of the 1724 royal ordinance that imposed compulsory universal primary education,

7280-406: The great ceremony, the mass, and all that is customary in such cases were celebrated. At her return, Madame de Maintenon took possession of an extremely sumptuous apartment that had been carefully arranged and furnished for her. Her people continued to wear her livery, but she scarcely ever rode anymore except in the great carriage of the King, where we saw her in the place, which had been occupied by

7384-466: The history of the Catholic Church and more detailed teaching in morality ; and the blacks were in charge of helping the teachers in classes, accounts , hospital, refectory , and sewing clothes for their fellow students or the teachers. Leisure time was also important for Maintenon, who encouraged the students to play intellectual games such as chess and checkers , though card games were banned. She asked Jean Racine to write Esther and Athalie for

7488-407: The honeymoon, usually so fatal, and especially the honeymoon of such marriages, only consolidated the favour of Madame de Maintenon. Soon after, she astonished everybody by the apartments given to her at Versailles, at the top of the grand staircase facing those of the King and on the same floor. From that moment the King always passed some hours with her every day of his life; wherever she might be she

7592-519: The largest telescope in France. Overtaken by the giant telescopes built in recent decades, today the observatory is widely open to amateur astronomy. The Odeillo solar furnace is the world's largest solar furnace. It is situated in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales , in south of France. Built between 1962 and 1968, it is 54 metres (177 ft) and 48 metres (157 ft) wide, and includes 63 heliostats. The site

7696-420: The late 1670s, she had essentially supplanted Montespan as the king's maîtresse-en-titre . After the death of Queen Maria Theresa in 1683, Madame de Maintenon married Louis in a private ceremony. She came to be regarded as the second most powerful person in France, and her piety had a strong influence on her husband, who became firmer in his Catholic faith and had no more open mistresses. In 1686, she founded

7800-489: The latter years of her life, she encouraged her husband to promote her previous charges, the children of the king by Madame de Montespan, to high positions at court intermediate between the prince and princesses du sang and the peers of the realm . Madame de Maintenon founded the Maison royale de Saint-Louis , a school for girls of impoverished noble families, who were becoming increasingly numerous because many provincial noblemen died in wars or expended their fortunes in

7904-429: The most talented and disciplined from the "blues". Each class had a timetable appropriate to its students' age: the "reds" learned arithmetic , geometry , reading and writing, along with receiving the rudiments of Catechism , Latin, and religious history; the "greens" continued in these subjects, along with geography and history; the "yellows" also learned drawing and dancing; the "blues" were initiated into heraldry ,

8008-661: The nobility, receiving an education that was severe but showed proof of the era's modernity. Madame de Maintenon was considered a born teacher and a friendly, motherly influence on her pupils, who included Dauphine Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy . Madame de Maintenon drew up the rules of the institution and attended to every detail. The school buildings housed 250 students, cared for by 36 lay female educators or "professes", 24 "converses" sisters carrying out domestic tasks, and some priests. The students, aged 7 to 20, were divided by their uniform colour: red for 7 to 10 years old; green for 11 to 14; yellow for 15–16; blue for 17–20, and black for

8112-702: The northern flank of Ayré Peak (which rises to 2416 m). In the early 1950s Électricité de France (EDF) implanted a huge construction site a little higher still (at 150 m below the top of the Ayré) to make an 11 km long tunnel to store water from the Néouvielle massif and from the Gavarnie for the Capdelong Dam and bring them through the mountains to the Pragnères hydroelectric plant. The existing funicular could not be extended and

8216-427: The nuns there, Sister Céleste, who persuaded the young girl to receive her first communion. In her older days, Maintenon would say, "I loved [Sister Céleste] more than I could possibly say. I wanted to sacrifice myself for her service." Françoise would also prove adept in the art of writing, going on to send more than 90,000 letters in her lifetime. Madame de Neuillant, the mother of Françoise's godmother, then brought

8320-539: The passes at Somport, Envalira, and Puymorens and new routes in the center of the range at Bielsa and Vielha . A notable visual feature of this mountain range is La Brèche de Roland , a gap in the ridge line, which – according to legend – was created by Roland . The metallic ores of the Pyrenees are not in general of much importance now, though there were iron mines at several locations in Andorra , as well as at Vicdessos in Ariège, and

8424-480: The poet Paul Scarron in 1652, which allowed her access to the Parisian high society. She was widowed in 1660, but later saw her fortunes improve through her friendship with Louis XIV's mistress, Madame de Montespan , who tasked her with the upbringing of the king's extramarital children. She was made royal governess when the children were legitimised, and in 1675 Louis XIV granted her the title Marquise de Maintenon. By

8528-689: The range is that of the saxifrages , several species of which are endemic here. In their fauna the Pyrenees present some striking instances of endemism . The Pyrenean desman is found only in some of the streams of the northern slopes of these mountains; the only other desman , the Russian desman , is confined to the Volga river basin in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The Pyrenean brook salamander ( Calotriton asper ), an endemic amphibian, also lives in streams and lakes located at high altitudes. Among other peculiarities of Pyrenean fauna are blind insects in

8632-420: The refuge was established in the early 1980s, the cable car, which was no longer used for the transportation of engineers controlling the work (who were much less numerous than during construction) was downgraded. When it no longer met safety standards and it was no longer necessary to go to the refuge due to the new piste, the cable car was stopped completely and dismantled in the 1990s. The old Funicular of Ayré

8736-482: The right bank of the Bastan . The commune is located some 20 km south of Bagneres-de-Bigorre and 12 km north-west of Aragnouet. The town is bounded in the north-west by the Bastan river which flows from east to west in a narrow valley through the main village (at an altitude of 1250 m) and through its main inhabited areas. The Bastan forms the northern border of the commune with the commune of Sers . The rest of

8840-429: The same valley, together with the nearby Cirque de Troumouse and Cirque d'Estaubé , are notable examples of the cirque formation. Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. The main passes of note are: Because of the lack of low passes a number of tunnels have been created, beneath

8944-716: The surface of the earth was also burned and the mountains, because of what had taken place, were called the Pyrenees." The Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces , from east to west: Girona , Barcelona , Lleida (all in Catalonia ), Huesca (in Aragon ), Navarra (in Navarre ). The French Pyrenees are part of the following départements , from east to west: Pyrénées-Orientales (also known as Northern Catalonia ), Aude , Ariège , Haute-Garonne , Hautes-Pyrénées , and Pyrénées-Atlantiques (the latter two of which include

9048-424: The territory of the commune is mostly a vast plateau surrounded by several peaks that form most of its other borders with: The village sits on the D918 road, which to the west leads down the valley to Lourdes, Tarbes and Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport . To the north-east, the road continues up the valley to the Col du Tourmalet and onwards to Arreau and Bagnères-de-Bigorre . The Bastan river, known locally as

9152-583: The title of Marquise de Maintenon after the name of her estate. Such favours incurred the jealousy of Madame de Montespan, who began to spar frequently over the children and their care. In 1680, the king made Madame de Maintenon the second mistress of the robes to his daughter-in-law, the Dauphine . Soon after the Affair of the Poisons , Montespan left the court and was unofficially replaced by de Maintenon, who proved to be

9256-431: The tourism in Barèges did not match. In addition the remoteness of the village made administrative tasks difficult, especially in winter due to new activities in the development of winter sports. The commune of Barèges was then created retaining the simple name popularized by Madame de Maintenon and the subsequent success of its thermal baths. Following very heavy rain (with a red meteorological vigilance rating for Flood in

9360-458: The town was evacuated. On 31 May 2013 snow accumulated and there was an avalanche below the Lienz which covered nearly 200 metres of the bed of the Bastan. After a heatwave on 15 and 16 June followed by thunderstorms and incessant rain on 17 and 18 June there was rising water associated with snow melt. Hampered by the remains of the avalanche, the waters of the Bastan overflowed the road on the right bank,

9464-567: The village of Bains, dated her letters "Barèges" although that designation belonged to the whole Barèges Valley or, in the political sense, the valley of Bastan and that of the Gave de Gavarnie. The town was just called Les Bains in reference to its thermal baths. In 1680 Louvois , Secretary of State and Minister of State for Louis XIV came to the Barèges Baths to treat a leg fracture. On returning to Versailles he obtained credits from Colbert for

9568-450: The wedding to 9 October 1683 or January 1684. In his memoirs, the duc de Saint-Simon (himself only a boy at the time of the event) wrote the following: "But what is very certain and very true, is, that some time after the return of the King from Fontainebleau , and in the midst of the winter that followed the death of the Queen (posterity will with difficulty believe it, although perfectly true and proved), Père de la Chaise, confessor of

9672-424: The work required excluding the subsequent operating costs), to modernise and diversify activities in the resort, and to reopen year round tourism. A cable car (1954–1968) and then a Gondola lift (1968–2002) also connected Barèges to Laquette (altitude 1715 m). As it no longer met safety standards it was removed. The only vestige of the cable car is the departure station on the right bank of Bastan above Barèges in

9776-410: Was a French noblewoman and the second wife of Louis XIV of France from 1683 until his death in 1715. Although she was never considered queen of France , as the marriage was carried out in secret, Madame de Maintenon had considerable political influence as one of the King's closest advisers and the governess of the royal children . Born into an impoverished Huguenot noble family, Françoise married

9880-420: Was also closed in 2000 due to aging structures and safety, despite the maintenance and modernization of buildings and equipment that had taken place over the decades. As of 2013 it has not reopened but a new project is being supported by the council, much of the population, and the friends of the station to restore the structures and aging equipment to modern standards (this is the largest and most expensive part of

9984-487: Was always lodged near him, and on the same floor if possible." The Marquise of Montespan wrote the following in her memoirs about the marriage between her former friend and ex-lover: "The following week, Madame de Maintenon... consented to the King's will, which she had opposed in order to excite it, and in the presence of the Marquis and Marquise de Montchevreuil , the Duc de Noailles , the Marquis de Chamarante, M. Bontems and Mademoiselle Ninon , her permanent chambermaid,

10088-450: Was at the Hotel du Chaumont, but some sources indicate she was born in or just outside the local prison, where her Huguenot father Constant d'Aubigné was incarcerated for conspiring against King Louis XIII 's powerful chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu . Her mother, Jeanne de Cardilhac, was the daughter of the prison director and was probably seduced by the incarcerated Constant. She was

10192-437: Was chosen because of the length and the quality of sunshine with direct light (more than 2,500 h/year) and the purity of its atmosphere (high altitude and low average humidity). This furnace serves as a science research site studying materials at very high temperatures. Temperatures above 3,500 °C (6,330 °F) can be obtained in a few seconds; in addition, it provides rapid temperature changes and therefore allows studying

10296-588: Was created in 2003. Barège is a type of goat wool which was originally made in Barèges. The undercoat from the goat fleeces yield a kind of lightweight wool and used as a Cashmere wool for a particular weave in gowns, scarves, and necklaces. Barèges gowns are cited by Victor Hugo in Les Misérables , and in both Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert . George Sand wrote on 28 August 1825, when in Bagneres-de-Bigorre , in

10400-498: Was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its spectacular geologic landforms and testimony to the unique " transhumance " agricultural system. The Pyrenean region possesses a varied ethnology, folklore and history: see Andorra ; Aragon ; Ariège ; Basque Country ; Béarn ; Catalonia ; Navarre ; Roussillon . For their history, see also Almogavars , Marca Hispanica . The principal languages spoken in

10504-458: Was inspired by the 17th-century treatises by Madame de Maintenon and François Fénelon . In the Revolutionary context, Madame de Maintenon's ideas were used by local officials and philanthropists who successfully established neighbourhood primary schools that accepted many young poor girls. Her work had a lasting impact on the original feminist movement, which gathered in Parisian salons and during

10608-500: Was married to the King of France and Navarre in the chapel of the château. The Abbé de Harlay, Archbishop of Paris, assisted by the Bishop of Chartres and Père de la Chaise, had the honour of blessing this marriage and presenting the rings of gold. After the ceremony, which took place at an early hour, and even by torchlight, there was a slight repast in the small apartments. The same persons, taking carriages, then repaired to Maintenon, where

10712-495: Was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. Other studies conducted in 1965 provided a detailed analysis of the composition of the atmospheres on Mars and Venus, this served as a basis for Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists to predict that these planets had no life. Since 1980, the observatory has had a 2-metre telescope, which is

10816-522: Was −18.0 °C (−0.4 °F) on 17 December 1946. In the 7th century the people of Barèges Valley were subjected to women - there was a custom that men served their wives with all marks of respect. Under the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258, James I of Aragon renounced his claim to Occitania inherited from his ancestors, the Counts of Barcelona . In return King Louis IX of France agreed to waive his own claims to

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