Tarbes

Administrative centre of the Hautes-Pyrénées département, situated on the River Adour in southwest France; population (1999) 46,400, conurbation 77,600. A tourist centre for the Pyrenees, the town is noted for its Anglo-Arabian horses. It has a school of artillery and armament works, and manufactures shoes, furniture, electrical apparatus, machinery, and pottery. It belonged to England from 1360 to 1406.

History Tarbes was the capital of the ancient province of Bigorre; in the 16th and 17th centuries was a Huguenot (French Protestant) stronghold. In 1814, at the end of the Peninsular War, Wellington defeated the French here and eventually forced Napoleon's abdication. The town has been involved in many conflicts over the years, and most of its old buildings have been destroyed. Its cathedral, originally built in the 12th century, has been greatly altered and restored.

Famous people Tarbes was the birthplace of French poet and critic Théophile Gautier (1811) and World War I Supreme Allied Commander Marshal Foch (1851).