Sames (; )SAMATZE

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'' ...

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 Atla ...

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. It is considered part of the Basque Country province of Lower Navarre (Basque: ''Behe Nafarroa'').

Geography

Sames lies in the valley 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. ...

, a major river running to the Bay of Biscay. It is located on a low plain between the Adour, Gaves, and

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 ...

rivers. An outcrop of the Pyrenees rises some 60m over the plain, blocking the Bidouze to the north and east. North of Sames is the hilly country of southern

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...

, formed from rocks and soil left by receding glaciers over 20 million years. The Adour valley extends west to the bay, about 35 km away. South of Sames are the foothills of the Pyrenees, which reach a height of 150m just across the river, 600m about 15 km from the commune, and 900m at a distance of 20 km.

Neighbourhoods

The commune is organized into several neighbourhoods, with distinct personalities partly shaped by history: * Le Bourg, a small borough uphill, consists of a cluster of homes around a medieval church. Traces of human habitation have been found dating back to the

3rd century The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 ( CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar.. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander ...

. * Quartier Saint-Jean dates back at least to the late Middle Ages. It developed around a hostel belonging to the Order of Malta that was established around 1445, with a hospital facility and rooms for travellers to and from Spain. Until the late

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradi ...

, the settlement was organised as a self-supporting hamlet and had its own church and graveyard. * Vic Neuf (also known as Vic Nau) is a rural zone with dispersed homes sloping down from Le Bourg to the banks of the Bidouze. * Vic de Lalande is a rolling upland stretching from Le Bourg to the neighbouring communes of

Hastingues Hastingues (; oc, Hastings, eu, Hastinga) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Its nickname, due to its location on a rounded-shaped hill, is Lou Carcolh (the snail). Geography The town lies ...

and

Bidache Bidache (; ; )BIDAXUNE

. It was originally farmland but now has many new homes. * Le Îles, a sparse strip of farms along the banks of the Gaves and Adour, derives its name from small river

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

s that stood there in the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th centur ...

and have since disappeared. (Some similar islets still exist downstream at Lahonce and

Sainte-Marie-de-Gosse Sainte-Marie-de-Gosse (; oc-gsc, Senta Maria de Gòssa) 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 ...

.) * Moura is a real-estate zone developing around a reservoir that was created in the early 1990s during a huge civil works project for a nearby highway linking Toulouse to

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitain ...

Demographics

Economy

The economy of Sames is based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, primarily maize, kiwi, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) vegetables.
Local craftsmen also make

blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histori ...

s and knives in a typical Pyrenean style. Lames de Sames, an artisanal workshop founded by designer and craftsman Christophe Lauduique, has a shop at the nearby seaside resort of

Anglet Anglet (; , eu, Angelu )ANGELU

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

bronze coins found in the recess of a wall) indicate that some type of settlement, probably agricultural, existed at the hilltop site of Le Bourg in ancient times. The local church—built in a simple Roman style, which was all that a very rural parish could afford—has been dated back to the early

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and na ...

. The first documents mentioning the commune by its current name are from 1255; several minor mentions can be found from throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. The history of the commune is closely tied to the Order of Malta, which, around 1445, built a hostel and hospital on the bank of the Bidouze to supplement facilities in the nearby port city of Bayonne. They named the site after the Order's patron saint, John (in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Saint Jean), and the neighbourhood was known as Saint-Jean-d'Etchart until the Order left in the late 18th century. ("Etchart" is most likely of Basque origin; a nearby swampy area is still known as "Etchouette".) The Order also established a chapel that served as a secondary church for locals, and they sustained their right to be buried there until a royal decree in 1668 forbade it. Several buildings from that period, dating to the early 1600s, are still standing. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a few wealthy landowners built mansions in the village: three on the hilltop (the first around 1775; the other two, more lavish and surrounded by parks and gardens, around 1850) and one in 1807 on the site of the old Order of Malta establishment.

Political control

While Sames itself held no strategic interest, being devoid of any military stronghold, the area at large was in constant turmoil because of rivalries between the powers that ruled the

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janua ...

region and northern Spain. Until the late 12th century, the area was part of the province of Labourd, ruled from Bayonne and included in the dukedom of Aquitaine, and hence the realm of France. The local powers were the lords of Guiche, 1.5 km away across the Bidouze, and the Abbey of Arthous 2 km away on the other side of the hills, which was founded in 1160 and served as a staging ground for pilgrims to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

in Spain. However, in 1193, Richard I of England, who was also duke of Aquitaine and, as such, a vassal to the king of France, agreed to relinquish sovereignty over a strip of land—located next to the Earldom of

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Ba ...

and stretching from the Pyrenees down to the Adour—to his father-in-law, Sancho VI of Navarre, who ruled over northern Spain. This land was then integrated into the kingdom of Navarre under the name Lower Navarre (French: ''Basse-Navarre''; Basque: ''Neferroa Beheroa''), and thus removed from the realm of France for the next four centuries. Sames, hemmed in at the confluence of the three rivers, remained under French control but found itself politically isolated. It was cut off from the village of Oeyregave to the northeast by the Earl of Orthe's fortress at

Peyrehorade Peyrehorade (; oc, Pèirahorada) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Peyrehorade station has rail connections to Bayonne, Pau and Tarbes. Population See also *Communes of the Landes departmen ...

, and from the rest of Labourd by the Bidouze river, on the opposite bank of which was set a ring of villages belonging to Navarre. It was also cut off from its southwestern neighbours beyond

Bidache Bidache (; ; )BIDAXUNE

, where a fortress was built in 1325 by the Earl of Gramont, and from Guiche to the south, which had a strong fortress dating back to the

11th century The 11th century is the period from 1001 ( MI) through 1100 ( MC) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the 1st century of the 2nd millennium. In the history of Europe, this period is considered the early part of the High Middle Ages. T ...

. Additionally, in 1289, the Duke of Aquitaine—who controlled Bayonne, the only port between Spain and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

—established a stronghold on the hilltop of

half a mile away under an agreement with the Abbey of Arthous (which sought protection from the Earl of Orthe). As a result of this isolation, the commune's jurisdictional, police, and fiscal situation were blurred until two decisive steps were taken in the second half of the 16th century: # In 1563, Sames and neighbouring villages to the south were integrated into the new Earldom of Guiche, created by King Charles IX of France on behalf of the Gramont family. Sames was thus clearly reinstated into the province of Labourd. # In 1589, Henry of Navarre became

King Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

, ending Lower Navarre's four centuries of detachment from France. In 1790, when the territorial divisions of France were reorganized by the French Revolution, Sames and its neighbours in Labourd and Lower Navarre were placed in the Basses-Pyrénées department, later renamed Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Culture

Since 2006, Sames has been the seat (at Quartier Saint-Jean) of an association dedicated to the promotion of lyric arts. The association organizes performances of

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

s for Sames and surrounding communes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sames, Pyrenees-Atlantiques Lower Navarre Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques