Saint-Béat (;
Gascon: ''Sent Biat'') is a former
commune in the
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...
department in southwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune
Saint-Béat-Lez
Saint-Béat-Lez (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2019 and consists of the communes of Lez and Saint-Béat
Saint-Béat (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Sent B ...
.
Arrêté préfectoral
30 April 2018
Sites and monuments
* Château de Saint-Béat
The Château de Saint-Béat is a ruined castle in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Saint-Béat-Lez in the Haute-Garonne ''Departments of France, département'' of France.Jean-Jacques DARD"Le château de Saint-Béat, « clef de France »" ''L ...
, 12th century castle
* The Pic du Gar
Pic du Gar is a mountain of the Pyrenees. It is located near Saint-Béat, Haute-Garonne département, in the Comminges natural region. The limestone mountain has an altitude of above sea level.
Despite its relatively low altitude, the Pic du Gar ...
is a striking limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
mountain in the area.
Marble quarries
Saint-Béat is renowned for its marble quarries, which have been in operation since Roman times. Although quarrying activity is now reduced, various marbles were or are still extracted from the municipality:
* The statuary white, or bluish-white, is the most prestigious marble from the municipality. For instance, it has been used to adorn the Palace of Versailles and the Grand Trianon. Its white or light gray color makes it a marble suitable for substituting Carrara marble
Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...
, even though its coarser grain makes it harder and more challenging to sculpt.
* Blue Turquin marble: it is a bluish-gray marble that can range up to dark gray.
* The surroundings of Saint-Béat also host quarries with marbles of various colors: the black from Loures-Barousse, the yellow from Bagiry, the red from Cierp, as well as green and white from Lez...
Every year, a sculpture and marble festival takes place in July in Saint-Béat. It welcomes sculptors, including some internationally renowned artists, who have three weeks to create a piece using blocks of local marble. The festival also offers workshops for those interested in learning the art of sculpture.
Saint-Béat brèche romaine.JPG, Roman breccia
SaintBeat Festival 2023 1.jpg, Work in progress at sculpture and marble Festival 2023
SaintBeat Festival 2023 2.jpg, Sculpture and marble Festival 2023
SaintBeat Festival 2023 3.jpg, Sculpture and marble Festival 2023
SaintBeat marbre blanc.jpg, Winner of a previous sculpture and marble festival, exhibited near the Garonne river
Population
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
The following is a list of the 586 communes in the French department of Haute-Garonne.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
Former communes of Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
States and territories disestablished in 2019
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