Arancou (; eu, Erango;ERANGO

Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia Pic d'Anie (Basque Auñamendi) is a mountain of the Pyrenees in France, located close to the Spanish border. It is high. The mountain boasts an almost perfect pyramidal shape and is surrounded by the spectacular karst landscape of. ''Larra'', i ...

oc, Aranco) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located in the former province of

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

Geography

Hydrography

The Lauhirasse, a tributary of the

Bidouze The Bidouze is a left tributary of the Adour, in the French Basque Country (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France. It is long. Geography The Bidouze rises at the base of ''Eltzarreko Ordokia'' in the Arbailles massif. It drains ...

, and the Baniou, a tributary of the

Gave de Pau The Gave de Pau () is a river of south-western France. It takes its name from the city of Pau, through which it flows. The river is long ( including the Gaves réunis), and its source is at the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees mountains. The ...

cross this commune.

Hamlets

* Garai * Le Burrou * Xabai

Bordering communes

Came A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel. There are two kinds of came: the H-shaped sections that hold two pieces together and the U-shaped sections that are used for the borders. Cames are mostl ...

to the Northwest *

Labastide-Villefranche Labastide-Villefranche (; eu, Bastidaxarre; oc, La Bastida) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 Commun ...

to the East *

Bergouey-Viellenave Bergouey-Viellenave ()BURGUE-ERREITI

Gascon name for "Arancou" is ''Arancon''; the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

name is ''Erango''. The name ''Arancou'' appears in the forms ''Arranque'' (1119–1136), Paul Raymond, ''Dictionnaire topographique Béarn-Pays basque'' ''Arancoen'' (13th century), ''Arancoey'', ''Arancoenh'' (around 1360), ''Arrancoeynh'', ''Arancoinh'' (1372), ''Aranquoen'' (1403, titles of

Titles of the commune of

- Departmental archives of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques), and ''Aranco'' (1584, alienation of the

Diocese of Dax The Diocese of Dax or Acqs was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Gascony in south-west France. According to tradition it was established in the 5th century. It was suppressed after the French Revolution, by the Concordat of 1801 betwe ...

Registres d'aliénations - ancienne bibliothèque impériale -

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

). The name of Arancou comes from the Basque ''arangoien'', for "higher valley".

History

Prehistory

Tools from the

Magdalenian The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: ''Magdalénien'') are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madele ...

era, one of the later cultures of the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

era of Western Europe, were found in the Bourrouillan cave in the territory of Arancou. Several thousand bones from hunted animals were found in the cave, as well as thousands of flint and bone tools.

Modern history

On January 1, 1973, the communes of Arancou,

Bergouey Bergouey (; oc, Vergüei) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of ...

, and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze were joined together. On 15 November 1977, Arancou regained its independent status, while Bergouey and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze remained together.

Arancou and Basque country

Jean-Baptiste Orpustan mentions Arancou in 1309 in a list of parishes paying dues to the royal power in

Navarrenx Navarrenx (; oc, Navarrencs, ; eu, Nabarrengose, eu, label=Zuberoan, Nabarrenkoxe) is a town and commune in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques ( Béarn) and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The demonym is Navarre. Since 2014, the ...

. Arancou was also mentioned by Eugène Goyheneche towards the end of the Middle Ages. He wrote that "because of the Gramont's power, he situation of the neighboring parishes, including Arancouis ambiguous." However, starting with the modern age, no evidence of Arancou's allegiance to the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

can be found. Nor is there evidence of any links to the dukedom of Gramont or of the sovereign principality of Bidache. The chapter of the collegiate Saint-Jacques de Bidache was the lord of the lands; the parish was situated in France in the administrative district of Lannes, where it came under the control of the administrative region of Hastingues. Although Arancou falls without a doubt within modern districting, it is nonetheless included in a list of the communes of

Basse-Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

. While presenting the town in 2009 on his website, the mayor, Alexandre Bordes, did not take sides. Rather, he emphasized the "mix of deep-rooted cultures" and the "location of the town at the borders of Gascogne, Béarn, Basque Country, and the Navarre." His website describes the town as "basquo-béarnais."

Administration

List of Mayors

Intercommunality

Arancou belongs to four different intercommunal territories: * The

Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque The communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque ( eu, Euskal Hirigune Elkargoa), is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the cities of Bayonne and Biarritz. It is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques depa ...

* The Adour Syndicate * Syndicate AEP of Arancou - Bergouey-Viellenave - Bidache - Labastide-Villefranche * Syndicate for the department of electricity

Population

Economy

Arancou's economy is primarily agricultural. Arancou is part of the

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

(a French regional certification) of the cheese,

Ossau-Iraty Ossau-Iraty is an Occitan-Basque cheese made from sheep milk. Origin Ossau-Iraty or Esquirrou is produced in south-western France, in the Northern Basque Country and in Béarn. Its name reflects its geographical location, the Ossau Valley in Bé ...

. There is a limestone quarry in Arancou. Until 1993, it provided the stone for the cemetery, Ciments de l'Adour, in

Boucau Boucau (; eu, Bokale;BOKALE

Via Turonensis). A wellspring runs underneath the church, feeding a washing-place in the basement. An 18th century Madonna statue called Notre-Dame-d'Arancou can be found in the church, as well as an

hilarri Hilarri (from Basque ''hil'' 'dead' and ''harri'' 'stone') is the name given to disk-shaped funerary steles that are typical of the Basque Country. These funerary steles present a disc-shaped head facing the rising sun on a trapezoidal stand. ...

(a disk-shaped funeral

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

) from Labets-Biscay, and different furnishings registered in the inventory of the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

(a tabernacle, font, and cross). The church also has a registered stained glass window.

References

{{authority control Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Lower Navarre