Abère

Abère is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.

Geography

Location

Abère is located some 22 km northeast of Pau and some 9 km northeast of Morlaas. The D7 road (Route de Vic) heading east from Saint-Jammes passes through the southern portion of the commune and continues to Baleix. Access to the village is by the Chemin de Lapoutge going north from the D7 for about 6 km. The Highway D207 coming south from Simacourbe forms the eastern boundary of the commune. The commune is mostly farmland with forests in the north and eastGoogle Maps
/ref>

Hydrography

Located in the watershed of the Adour, the Grand Léez river forms the western border of the commune, with the Arriutort joining it at the northern tip of the commune and forming the northeastern border of the commune.

Localities and hamlets

*Bartot
*Berducq
*Bordenave
*Briscoulet
*Courde
*Crouquet
*Hourcade
*Labat
*Larré
*Piarrette
*Salabert
*La Teulère

Géoportail
IGN, consulted on 14 October 2011

Neighbouring communes and towns

Toponymy

The name ''Abère'' was mentioned in the tenth century''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011, p. 2 (according to Pierre de Marca Pierre de Marca, ''History of Béarn'' p. 268 ) and appeared in the forms:
*''Oere'' and ''Bere'' (1385 Census of BéarnManuscript of the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques ),
*''Vere'' and ''Avere'' (1385Michel Grosclaude, ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, , p. 214 Census of Morlaàs, but uncertain if it is the same locality),
*''Oeyre'' was mentioned in 1487 Registry of Béarnais businesses.Manuscripts of the 15th and 16th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
*''Abere'' appears on the Cassini Map of 1750Cassini Map 1750 - Abère
/ref> and in the 1790 map,
/ref> Bulletin of Laws.

Michel Grosclaude proposed a Latin etymology of ''abellana'' or ''abella'', derived from the Béarnais ''abera'' (according to Brigitte Jobbé-Duval.), which means "hazelnut" and by extension "the hazel copse"

The commune's name in Béarnais is ''Avera''.

History

Paul Raymond noted that in 1385, there were 8 fires in Abère and that it depended on the bailiwick of Pau. A barony was created in 1672, a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. The commune was part of the Archdiocese of Vic-Bihl, which in turn depended on the Diocese of Lescar of which Lembeye was the capital.''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
p. 174

Its Lay Abbey, Ministry of Culture, Mérimée the house of ''Bosom d'Abadie'' is mentioned in 1385.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Abère

Intercommunality

Abère is a member of three inter-communal organisations:
*the community of communes of Nord-Est Béarn
*the AEP Union for the Luy and Gabas Regions
*the energy Union of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Population

Culture and Heritage

Civil heritage

Several structures are listed as historical monuments in the commune. These are:
*Tile factory at ''la Teulère''Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
*Former Lay Abbey: the Bosom d'Abadie
*Town Hall (former Presbytery) (19th century)
*Chateau of Bordenave d'Abère (1732)
*Menyucq House farm (1841)
*Houses and Farms (19th century)

Religious Heritage

*The Church of St. John the Baptist (16th century) The church contains several historical objects. These are:
**Processional Cross (17th century)
**Altar Cross
**Painting: Christ on the Cross with Saint John, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist (18th century)
**Baptismal Fonts (12th century)
**4 Altar Candlesticks
**2 statues: Angels holding a column and a scale
**Tabernacle
**Altar (18th century)
**Altar, Tabernacle, and 4 Candlesticks at the secondary altarMinistry of Culture, Palissy

See also

* Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

References

External links

Abère on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Abere'' on the 1750 Cassini Map

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abere
Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques