Luz-Saint-Sauveur (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitania region of south-western France. It lies on the river Bastan, a tributary of the Gave de Pau. Locals simply call it Luz, the city took its current name from Luz-Saint-Sauveur on April 9, 1962. Its inhabitants are called Luzéens and Luzéennes in French. The town features locations of historical heritage such as the church of Saint-André, also known as "Les Templiers", the Château Sainte-Marie or the spa district. Protected by mountains to the east, west and south, and separated from the plain to the north by the Pierrefitte gorge, Luz-Saint-Sauveur is somewhat geographically isolated though it is only a hour drive from Lourdes. Places and monuments Templar church Called "the Templars" (actually Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem), the church of St. Andrew was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 14th century, the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem built walls around the church to protect the inhabitants of Luz from attacks by Spanish bandits called 'irregulars'. At that time, a large ditch surrounded the church, crossed by a drawbridge. A few years later, the chapel Notre-Dame-de-la-Pitié was built inside the ramparts to ask God to put an end to an epidemic of black plague which devastated the country Toy around 1650. In 1865, a new door was added to facilitate entry. It is a listed monument since 1840. Château Sainte-Marie (ruins) Perched at the top of a rocky outcrop, the Château Sainte-Marie has over the centuries been a location of strategic importance for the valley and also a place of refuge for the population. It was built in the 10th century by the Counts of Bigorre. In the 14th century, it was the occupied by the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem. The castle and valley were in the possession of the English Crown from 1360 until 1404, when an army of the Comte de Clermont, assisted by the inhabitants of the valley and commanded by Aougé de Coufitte, took the castle and drove the English from the valley. The castle was then gradually abandoned. Its restoration was undertaken in the 1980s, thus safeguarding one of the most significant vestiges of the history of the valley. The remains of the Château Sainte-Marie have been listed as historic monuments since October 16, 1930. Although commonly described as being within Luz-Saint-Sauveur, the castle is actually