Sainte-Marie-de-Campan
| Campan | ||
|---|---|---|
The town hall of Campan
|
||
|
||
 Campan
|
||
|
Location within Occitanie region
Campan
|
||
| Coordinates: 43°01′03″N 0°10′42″E / 43.0175°N 0.1783°ECoordinates: 43°01′03″N 0°10′42″E / 43.0175°N 0.1783°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Occitanie | |
| Department | Hautes-Pyrénées | |
| Arrondissement | Bagnères-de-Bigorre | |
| Canton | La Haute-Bigorre | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Gérard Ara | |
| Area1 | 95.36 km2 (36.82 sq mi) | |
| Population (1999)2 | 1,483 | |
| • Density | 16/km2 (40/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 65123 /65710 | |
| Elevation | 629–2,747 m (2,064–9,012 ft) (avg. 656 m or 2,152 ft) |
|
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
||
.svg)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Campan (Occitan: Campan) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.
Campan stands in a valley of the same name at the confluence of the rivers Adour and Adour de Payolle. It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the Route of the Pyrenees.
Campan includes:
The ski resort of La Mongie lies in Campan.
The Mayor of Campan is Gérard Ara, whose term of office expires in 2014. Campan is unusual among French communes in having two electoral colleges for municipal elections: the township on one hand, and Sainte-Marie La Séoube on the other.
The main economic activities are forestry, green marble quarrying, farming for wool and milk, and tourism.
Sculpted by the artist Edmond Chrètien of Bordeaux, and erected in 1926 at the front of the church, to the right of the south door, the monument to the dead of Campan is distinguished by its sober and touching appearance.
Unlike the heroic soldiers who decorate many of the war memorials in France, the statue that dominates this monument represents a meditating woman, her face practically invisible, who wears the traditional clothing of the people of the valley. The memorial pays homage to the dead of the wars of the twentieth century from each of the sections of the commune: Le Bourg, Sainte Marie and La Séoube.
Finally, some bas-reliefs evoke 'peace rediscovered' through representations of the three main goods of the commune: wood, butter and wool.
In the old days, when a man of the Campan valley got married in circumstances that were not normal, e.g., an old widower marrying a young girl, he was the object of a 'charivari' (i.e., pandemonium), an outbreak of very rough mockery. The couple was represented by coarse dolls, known as 'les Mounaques' (from the Occitan word 'monaca', meaning doll or puppet).
For some years, a workshop has been open in Campan manufacturing a collection of small 'mounaques'. Founded by Maryse Bouyrie and Marie-Madeleine Ortéga, initially situated at La Séoube, it has been located since 1999 at the heart of Campan, in a house provided by the municipal council, « la Clairefontaine ». In summer, displays of 'mounaques' can sometimes be seen around the town.
...
Wikipedia