Barcelonne-du-Gers

Barcelonne-du-Gers started life around 1118 as Cosset, where the Templars of Manciet founded a hospital to shelter Santiago pilgrims. Around 1316, the settlement was refounded as a bastide, quickly taking the name Barcelonne -- borrowed from Barcelona for prestige. The village has had a rough history: partially destroyed by Protestant troops in 1569, burned by Catholic League forces in 1591 on suspicion of Protestant sympathies, and damaged again when English forces under Wellington besieged Napoleonic troops here in 1814.

Reconstruction began in earnest under the Second Empire from 1854. In 1892 the name was officially changed to Barcelonne-du-Gers to distinguish it from its Catalan namesake. A memorial marks the site where twelve resistance fighters and two civilians were killed on June 13, 1944. Basic services here -- it's the last stop before Aire-sur-l'Adour.