Lourdes, France

Lourdes is a town located in southwestern France, at the foot of the Pyrenees. It is home to the world's most famous Christian sanctuary. It has about 15 thousand inhabitants. Lourdes is visited annually by millions of pilgrims who come here with the belief in the miracles of this holy place.

According to the Catholic Church, in February 1858, a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubryu, received visions from the Virgin Mary that led her to the grotto of Massabielle, near the town. After her last vision, in 1862, pilgrims came here to draw water from the miraculous spring in the cave. Many returned to their homes without crutches and without the pains they had before coming here. For this, a whole complex was started to be built here, including the Masabiel cave and several churches. In the cave there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, made from a description by Bernadette. The largest and most beautiful is the basilica "Roser", built over the cave in 1889. On the square in front of the basilica there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary , cast in bronze and painted white and blue. In 1958, a huge modern church, St. Pius X, was built underground to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bernadette's vision. It holds a congregation of about 25,000. And Lourdes Fortress was built high above the city as its guardian. Here there is a museum of wax figures depicting the lives of Christ and of Bernadette.

In the old part of the town, on the other side of the river Gave, is the Museum of Art and Folk Traditions of the Pyrenees. It displays early mountaineering outfits, maps and drawings, and various objects on local crafts, costumes and the wildlife of the Pyrenees. An interesting attraction of the town is that, with the help of a funicular (a means of rail transport in conditions of severe sloping terrain), tourists can climb to the top of Mount Ger and admire the beautiful views from above.

The Betaram caves are located 15 km from Lourdes. They were discovered in 1810, but for the next 70 years only wealthy Britons visited them, as access was difficult. Since 1903, the caves have been accessible to all comers by a miniature railway. And travelling by boat on the underground river, tourists will be fascinated by the landscape of limestone formations with fantastic shapes.