Moulin de Boly, Watermill in Lourdes, France

Moulin de Boly is a two-story watermill on rue Bernadette-Soubirous in Lourdes, its light-textured walls topped by a steep shingled roof with three small dormers and a larger open-timber gabled dormer. A covered wooden balcony with slender posts runs along the left facade, where a sign reads "HOTEL" and "BAR". Inside, the ground floor holds the kitchen, a common room and the millstones restored in 2012; the upper floor has the room where Bernadette Soubirous was born.

The Castérot family, Bernadette Soubirous's maternal relatives, ran this watermill from 1786 to 1854. Bernadette was born here on 7 January 1844 and lived in the house until she was ten. Steam-mill competition, drought and the family's generosity toward the poor and leniency toward debtors ruined the business. The millstones were restored in 2012.

The mill shows how millers and their families lived in the Hautes-Pyrénées during the 1800s, with original kitchen furnishings and period objects on display. The rooms give a sense of daily routines and the rhythm of life tied to the mill's operations.

The site is easy to reach on foot and visitors can walk through the rooms at their own pace without special preparation. Wearing sturdy shoes is recommended since some floors are uneven and the building has narrow stairs.

One bedroom in the building is where a child was born who would later become important in religious history. This connection makes the visit deeply personal for thousands of people, even though the mill itself was simply a working family home.