Lourdes - City of France

Lourdes is a town and commune situated in the southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, lying in the first Pyrenean foothills, in southwestern France.

Lourdes was originally a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. At that time, the most prominent feature was the fortified castle that rises up from the center of the town on a rocky escarpment. Following the claims that there were apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Christian pilgrimage. With about 270 hotels, Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France after Paris.

The five-domed St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lourdes was designed by Myroslav Nimciv, while its interior polychrome decorations were by famed artist Jerzy Nowosielski. The church is about a 10-minute walk from the basilica and the grotto, on a street named in honor of Ukraine, situated on a narrow piece of property close to the railroad station. Visible from the basilica, the height of the building makes up for its breadth.

The movie Song of Bernadette, based on a novel by Franz Werfel which tells the occurrences at Lourdes, won 4 Academy Awards in 1944.
Comedian George Carlin frequently made references to Lourdes in some Catholic-related skits.
Pop icon Madonna named her daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon after the town.
The character Cochepaille from Les Misérables is from Lourdes.

Emile Zola wrote the novel Lourdes that deals with faith and healing, particularly of Marie de Guersaint. It is a major work of literature dealing with the sickness, despair, faith and hope.

Mathieu Mireille,he famous French singer referring to the deficiencies in any human being, has stated that when she goes to Lourdes and sees sick or invalid people around, she considers it a sin to complain.

Lourdes has two main schools, one public and one private. The private school, the "lycee Peyramale St Joseph" was founded just two years before the apparitions by two monks; it is named after the curee peyramale, who was present during the apparitions. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007. The public school, the "Lycee de Sarsan," is a newer, less reputed establishment. It is in constant rivalry with the lycee Peyramale.