Pimbo is a one-street village perched on a ridge in the Tursan region, and despite its tiny size it holds the oldest bastide in the Landes (founded in 1268) and a collegiate church that dominates the landscape for miles around.
The Collegiale Saint-Barthelemy started as a Benedictine monastery attributed to Charlemagne in 778 -- the Sainte-Marie-de-Pendulo, mentioned in 11th-century records. The current church dates from the 12th century and has a wide bell tower-porch with a massive military silhouette, a carved portal with Celtic-style discs and pine cone motifs, and a fortified 14th-century appearance that speaks to the violent centuries it survived. Huguenot forces ransacked it in 1569 and it took further damage during the Revolution.
About 13,000 pilgrims pass through annually. From the parish priest's garden you get panoramic views over the Gabas valley and, in clear weather, the Pyrenees.
The bastide was formally founded in 1268 through a pareage contract between the Abbot of Pimbo and the seneschal of Gascony, acting for Henry III of England. But the site's history goes much deeper -- the monastery is attributed to Charlemagne's 778 campaign returning from Spain, the same expedition that ended in the disaster at Roncesvalles. A fortified castle (Chateau de Barene) was built alongside the monastery to protect it.
Accommodation in Pimbo.
| Gîte communal de Pimbo 17*€ 21 |
| Gîte Ferme de Nordland 22€ 8 |
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