Lestelle-Bétharram

Lestelle-Bétharram (French pronunciation: [lɛstɛl betaʁam]; Occitan: L'Estela e Bètharram) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.

Lestelle-Bétharram
Commune
General view of the sanctuaries of Bétharram
Coat of arms
Location of Lestelle-Bétharram
Lestelle-Bétharram Show map of France Lestelle-Bétharram Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°07′51″N 0°12′30″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Vallées de l'Ousse et du Lagoin
Intercommunality	Pays de Nay
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Marie Berchon[1]
Area 1	8.63 km2 (3.33 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	795
• Density	92/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64339 /64800
Elevation	278–481 m (912–1,578 ft) (avg. 294 m or 965 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

In 1832, St. Michel Garicoits established the Society of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Betharram.

On 5 July 1940, Carl Einstein, German author, activist, and art critic, committed suicide here. An anarchist veteran of the Spanish Civil War, he had been interned in France after the rebel Nationalist victory. Although he had escaped in the turmoil following the German invasion of France, he chose death as the solution to an impossible situation.^[3]

Bétharram near 1840, by Eugène de Malbos.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department