Aren 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 the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

region of south-western

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 part of the urban area (''aire d'attraction des villes'') of

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; oc, Auloron e Senta Maria; eu, Oloroe-Donamaria) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), southwestern France. History The town was founded by the ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arenais'' or ''Arenaises''.

Geography

Aren is located some 14 km north-west of

immediately south of

Saucède Saucède (; oc, Sauceda) 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 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ...

. The commune is divided into two portions - the eastern portion contains the village and is bordered in the north and east by the

Gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade to form ...

. This portion is connected to the western part located to the west of the Joos river by the D325 road (which is part of the commune). Access to the commune is by the D936 road which crosses the "neck" of the commune and connects to the D325 road which goes east to the village. The D59 road also goes from the village south-west to

Saint-Goin Saint-Goin (; oc, Sent Goen; eu, Sangoine) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department References

...

. The D25 also connects the "neck" of the commune to

Préchacq-Josbaig Préchacq-Josbaig (; oc, Preishac de Geusvath; eu, Josibaia) 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 co ...

in the north and crosses the Gave-d'Oleron north of this village - the nearest river crossing to the commune.Google Maps
/ref> The eastern portion of the commune consists of the village and farmland. The western portion, which has no hamlets, is heavily forested with some 30% of farmland. Aren was part of the former arrondissement which grouped together the communes of Aren,

Esquiule Esquiule (; eu, Eskiula)ESKIULA

Géronce Géronce (; oc-gsc, Geronce; eu, Jeruntze) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Geography Access There are several routes leading in and out of Géronce. Route 936 linking Oloron-Sainte-Marie and ...

Geüs-d'Oloron Geüs-d'Oloron 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 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrénées-Atlan ...

Orin ORiN (Open Robot/Resource interface for the Network) is a standard network interface for FA (factory automation) systems. The Japan Robot Association proposed ORiN in 2002, and the ORiN Forum develops and maintains the ORiN standard. Background ...

, and

...

. The commune lies in the

Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of the

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...

and the

flows from south to north then turns east at the northern border of the commune. The ''Joos'' river flows north across the "neck" of the commune and joins the Gave-d'Oloron north of Prechacq-Josbaig. In the western portion of the commune numerous streams rise including the ''Ibarle'' and the ''Larribau'' which all flow north eventually to join the Gave d'Oloron.

Places and Hamlets

* Arnabaigt * Arroutis * Bagolle * Bugala * La Campagne de Préchacq * Estremeres * Hippolyte * Lannes * Larraillet * Loustalet * Mirande * La Naü * Puheu * Tatieu * Vital

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is also ''Aren''. Brigitte Jobbé-Duval Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of placenames - Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', 2009, Archives and Culture, indicated that the toponym ''Aren'' probably means ''domain of Arrius'', the name of a former owner, who

Michel Grosclaude Michel Grosclaude (; oc, Miquèu; 1926–2002) was a philosopher and French linguist, and an author of works on grammar, lexicography and Occitan onomastics. Biography Born on 8 July 1926 in Nancy at (Meurthe-et-Moselle). He was the son of ...

called ''Arennius''. The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

:''
''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. ''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 *Grosclaude: ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', 2006

, ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, *Cassini:

Cassini Map The Cassini Map or Academy's Map is the first topographic and geometric map made of the Kingdom of France as a whole. It was compiled by the Cassini family, mainly César-François Cassini (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Ca ...

from 1750Cassini Map 1750 – Aren
/ref> Origins: *Oloron: Cartulary of

Oloron Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; oc, Auloron e Senta Maria; eu, Oloroe-Donamaria) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), southwestern France. History The town was founded by the ...

Cartulary of the

, published in the ''History of Béarn'' by

Pierre de Marca Pierre de Marca (24 January 1594 – 29 June 1662) was a French bishop and historian, born at Gan in Béarn of a family distinguished in the magistracy. His family was known among judicial circles in the 16th century, and maintained the ...

*Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Insinuations: Insinuations of the

Diocese of Oloron The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Oloron was a Latin rite bishopric in Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Aquitaine region of south-west France, from the 6th to the 19th century. History The diocese of Oleron already existed in the 6th cen ...

Manuscripts from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 9 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 Aren had 23

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

and depended on the bailiwick of Oloron. The barony, which was established in 1658, was a vassal of the

Viscounts of Béarn The viscounts of Béarn (Basque: ''Bearno'', Gascon: ''Bearn'' or ''Biarn'') were the rulers of the viscounty of Béarn, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinc ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

The town is part of four inter-communal structures: *the Communauté de communes du Haut Béarn; *the AEP association of Aren-Préchacq-Josbaig; *the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; *the mixed association for oak forestry in the Basque and Béarn valleys.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 246 inhabitants. Aren War Memorial

Economy

Economic activity is mainly agricultural (livestock, pasturage, polyculture). The town 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 ...

(AOC) zone designation of

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 ...

Culture and Heritage

The patron saint of Aren is

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. A village festival takes place on the last Sunday of June .

Civil heritage

The Chateau of Aren (15th century) is registered as an historical monument. Aren Ploo House

There are several old houses in the village which were counted in the census of Gaston Fébus in 1385 called Ploo, Carrere, and Paletz. Under the Viscounts of Béarn the inhabitants of Jaca were relocated to the commune and the mode of construction of the houses, uniquely in the Josbaig Valley, is similar to the Canfrance region and Jaca.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint John the Baptist (19th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Environmental heritage

The hiking trail GR78 crosses the territory of the commune.Géoportail

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

Notable people linked to the commune

*Aren Stinger

References

External links

''Aren'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aren, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques