Lescar

Lescar
Commune
Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location of Lescar
Lescar Show map of France Lescar Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°20′01″N 0°26′05″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Lescar, Gave et Terres du Pont-Long
Intercommunality	CA Pau Béarn Pyrénées
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Valérie Revel[1]
Area ^1	27 km^2 (10 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	9,524
• Density	350/km^2 (910/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64335 /64230
Elevation	142–203 m (466–666 ft) (avg. 154 m or 505 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Lescar (French pronunciation: [lɛskaʁ] ^ⓘ; Occitan: Lescar) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.[3]

Lescar is the site of the Roman city known variously as Benearnum, Beneharnum or Civitas Benarnensium, the location providing the name for the later region of Béarn.[4]

In 841, Benearnum was razed by the Vikings and Morlaàs became the Béarnaise capital. However, from the twelfth century a new city grew up at Lescar. Lescar Cathedral was built during this period, and was the seat of the Diocese of Lescar until 1801.[5] The remains of the last monarchs of all Navarre Queen Catherine I (†1517) and King John III (†1516) lie at the cathedral.

Today, Lescar is primarily a suburb of the nearby town of Pau. The commune of Lescar has joined together with 30 neighbouring communes to establish the Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées which provides a framework within which local tasks are carried out together.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,948 —     1800 1,710 −1.84% 1806 1,611 −0.99% 1821 1,781 +0.67% 1831 2,093 +1.63% 1836 1,938 −1.53% 1841 2,096 +1.58% 1846 2,014 −0.79% 1851 1,940 −0.75% 1856 1,877 −0.66% 1861 1,776 −1.10% 1866 1,827 +0.57% 1872 1,807 −0.18% 1876 1,855 +0.66% 1881 1,791 −0.70% 1886 1,794 +0.03% 1891 1,645 −1.72% 1896 1,630 −0.18%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,554 −0.95% 1906 1,522 −0.42% 1911 1,482 −0.53% 1921 1,471 −0.07% 1926 1,661 +2.46% 1931 1,871 +2.41% 1936 1,750 −1.33% 1946 1,576 −1.04% 1954 1,855 +2.06% 1962 2,194 +2.12% 1968 2,953 +5.08% 1975 4,164 +5.03% 1982 5,186 +3.19% 1990 5,793 +1.39% 1999 8,191 +3.92% 2007 9,749 +2.20% 2012 9,995 +0.50% 2017 9,804 −0.39%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE (1968-2017)[7]

Twin towns

• L'Alfàs del Pi, Spain

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. INSEE commune file
4. "Alphabetical Catalogue of Sites and Peoples of Roman Gaul - Benearnum = Beneharnum / Civ. Benarnensium". University of South Carolina. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
5. French Atlantic Coast. Michelin Apa Publications Ltd. October 2007. p. 338. ISBN 978-1-906261-17-7.
6. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Lescar, EHESS (in French).
7. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE