Oloron-Sainte-Marie

Originally a Roman settlement called Iluro, Oloron became a bishopric, and its bishop, Saint Grat, was present at the Council of Aspe in 506. Destroyed by the Normans in 845, it was in 1080 that the Viscount of Béarn, Centulle V the Younger, ensured its revival. An important stop on the Way of St. James, the splendid and present-day Sainte-Marie Cathedral was built in the 12th century. Situated on both sides of the Gave d'Aspe river, Oloron, the former viscountal and then royal city, became a sub-prefecture in 1801.