Aramits (; oc, Aràmits; eu, Aramitze) is a commune 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 Atlant ...

department 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 ...

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 ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aramitsiens'' or ''Aramitsiennes''.

Brigitte Jobbé-Duval Brigitte Jobbé-Duval is a French historian and linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects ...

, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture,

Geography

Location

Aramits is located in part of the Barétous valley, the westernmost of the three main valleys 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 B ...

crossing the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. It is located some 15 km south-west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 3 km north of Arette.

Access

Access is by the D919 road from

Ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. ...

in the north-east to the village then continuing to Lanne-en-Baretous in the south-west. There are also the minor roads D659 from the village north to join the D159 on the northern border and the D133 which goes south from the village to Arette.Google Maps
/ref> Bus route 848 of the ''Inter-urban network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', which connects ''La Pierre Saint-Martin'' (a ski resort in Arette) to Oloron-Sainte-Marie, has a stop in Aramits.

Hydrography

Located 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, ...

of the Adour, the commune is bisected from south-west to north-east by : '' Le Vert'' a tributary of 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 t ...

which gathers many tributaries of its own in the commune including the Aurone, the Lancy, the Littos, the Talou Gros, and also by the ''arrècs'' of Bugalaran, Bitole (as well its tributary the Rachet), Ibarcis, and Labaigt (and by its tributary the Audore). The tributaries of the Joos: the Arriou de Sulu and the Bouhatéko erreka (with the Dragon) also flow through the commune.

Localities and hamlets

*Aïtzaguer *Andillon *Arhanchet *Aripe *Atchouètos *Badet *Balen *Baliros *Villa Barétous *Bénébig *Bernasqué *Bigué *Bile *Bouenou *Bourette *Brincou *Fontaine Bugalaran *Bois de Bugangue *Borde Estanguet *Granges Cachau *Calangué *Camou *Capdeville *Carquet *Carrère *Casabonne *Casalet *Casemayou *Castera *Chandelle *Chicane *Chinaberry *Chourrout *Coig *Coig de Lamothe *Couéchot *Coustarou *Crapuchette *Escary *Escoubès *Escribasse *Estrate *Galard *Garay *La Gloriette *Gouloume *Gourroure *Guirail *Hondeville *Laborde *Lac de Bas *Lacazette *Lacouère *Lagarde *Lahitte *Lamothe (2 localities) *Lanne de Haut *Lanneretonne *Larrande *Lartigau *Laserre *Laude Bousquet *Grange Lerdou *Lesponne *Lhande *Loustalot *Loustaucaus *Grange de Lurbet *Mendioudou *Ménin *Mesplou *Miapira *Miramon *Mirande *Moncole *Mounolou *Les Murs *Olivé de Haut *Olivé de Baig *Oscamou *Grange d'Osse *Ounces *Oyhenard *Pastou *Les Pernes *Peyré *Grange de Pradet *Prat *Bois de Rachet *Pont de Rachou *Ripaète *Satzoury *Serres *Serreuille *Sottou *Soulou *Talou *Talou Andichou *Talou Piarroch *Tembla de la Loupère *Tos de Haut *Trébucq *Les Trois Arbres Géoportail
IGN

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is ''Aràmits'' (according to classical norm of Occitan). For

, the origin of the name is from the Basque ''aran'' ("valley") and ''-itz'' (a locative and collective suffix) giving "place of valleys" or "confluence". It would also indicate that the inhabitants were once nicknamed ''grenouilles'' (frogs) - a name for the inhabitants of wetlands). The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: * Raymond:''
''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

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 ...

, ''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 – Aramits
/ref> Origins: *Ossau: Titles of the Ossau Valley *Luntz: *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 *Aspe: Titles of the Aspe Valley *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Cour Majour: Regulations of the Cour MajourCour Majour of Béarn, register manuscripts from the 15th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Military: Military Inspection of BéarnManuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond on page 7 of his 1863 dictionary that Aramits is the former capital of the Barétous valley and that there were two Lay Abbeys, vassals of the Viscounts of Béarn: The ''Abadie-Susan'' and ''Abadie-Jusan''. He further noted that in 1385 there were 52 fires at Aramits and it depended on the bailiwick of Oloron. Shortly before (in 1375), the priest of Aramits played the role of mediator in conflicts between the Navarrese and the Bearnese which gave birth to the treaty called the ''Junta de Roncal'', leading to the yearly tribute of the three cows paid by Aramits to Isaba (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

). In 1790, the Canton of Aramits also included

Esquiule Esquiule (; eu, Eskiula)ESKIULA
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 bo ...

(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 Béa ...

Culture and Heritage

Religious heritage

The Parish church of Saint-Vincent (17th century) is registered as an historical monument. It was a former Lay Abbey with the remains of a portal from the 17th century but the old church was demolished in 1880. The new Romanesque-Byzantine style church was built from 1884 to 1886.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Environmental heritage

*The Sommet de Souek is 623 metres high *The Soum d'Unars is 604 metres *The Barrat de Sottou is 556 metres.

Facilities

Education

The commune has a primary school.

Sports and sports facilities

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

: the ''Entente Aramits'' plays in Fédérale 2. Pierre Capdevielle played there from 1985 to 1994.

Notable people linked to the commune

* Henri d'Aramitz lived in the commune. He was the son of Charles Aramitz and a sergeant in the company of musketeers who was the inspiration for

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, A ...

in the novels ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'', ''

Twenty Years After ''Twenty Years After'' (french: Vingt ans après) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of ''The d'Artagnan Romances'', it is a sequel to ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) and precedes the 1847–1850 no ...

'' and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...