Orthez - Sights

Sights

The Gave de Pau is crossed at this point by a 14th century bridge which has four arches and is surmounted at its centre by a tower. Several old houses, and a church of the 12th, 14th and 15th centuries are of some interest, but the most remarkable building is the Tour Moncade (43°29′31″N 0°46′13″W / 43.49194°N 0.77028°W / 43.49194; -0.77028), a pentagonal tower of the 13th century, once the keep of a castle of the viscounts of Béarn, and now used as a meteorological observatory. A building of the 17th century is all that remains of the old Calvinist university (see below). The town hall is a modern building containing the library.

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