History of the region: In d'Artagnan's footsteps …
The Gers is the cradle of Gascony, a land stamped by history, and still bearing its marks. Home of cadets of Gascony, it is also a region rich in mystical emotion for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela passes this way.
The Gers, under Roman rule
When Caesar's righthand man, Crassus, conquered Aquitaine in 56 BCE, he turned the lands of the Gers into a Roman province. There are still plenty of reminders to be seen from those ancient times: statues, treasures, sacrificial altars, Gallo-Roman villas...
The Birth of Gascony
In the 7th century AD, the neighbouring people on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees, often know as Vascones (later, Basques), started to settle in the lands of Gascony. This is how the kingdom of Vasconia was created.
The latter half of the 7th century saw the emergence of the principality of Gascony, ruled aver by Felix and duke Loup. As history unfolded, Gascony would become part of the kingdom of France.
The Gers : land of the Cadets of Gascony
It was in the Gers that the cadets of Gascony won their letters patent of nobility. Charles de Batz, alias d'Artagnan, who was immortalized by Alexandre Dumas, would secure their everlasting fame. The Cadets were destined in the main for military careers, and their valour and courage became renowned the world over.
The Gers, mythical and mystical land traversed by the roads to Compostela
Since the 9th century and the discovery of the tomb of the apostle St James the Great at Compostela, in Galicia, the Gers has been an obligatory staging-post for thousands of pilgrims. Through the chapels, abbeys and many other vestiges bearing witness to pilgrims heading westward down the ages, you will discover all the magic of the roads to Compostela. On the routes from Le Puy and Arles you can admire the collegiate church of la Romieu, the Romanesque bridge at Artigue and St. Mary's cathedral in Auch, all monuments listed as part of the world heritage.
