Sauveterre-de-Béarn

Sauveterre-de-Béarn is a commune and town in south-west France, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques "département", on the border with Spain.

History

Built originally as a walled refuge ("sauveté" hence "Sauveterre") from the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, Sauveterre grew in importance as its old bridge was on one of the main routes to Spain, used by pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela, and others. In the Middle Ages it was to keep a watch from its lofty heights on Navarre and Gascony.

It was from the bridge that in 1170 Queen Sancie, widow of the recently deceased Gaston V of the Béarn, was submitted to the judgement of God and thrown into the river, hands and feet tied, after being accused of the murder of her newly born and malformed son. She survived and was declared innocent.

The fortifications suffered from the religious wars, but enough remains to fire the imagination of what this once important town must have been.

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