Arros-de-Nay ( oc, Arròs de Nai) 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 ''Arrosiens'' or ''Arrosiennes''

Geography

Arros-de-Nay is part of the urban area of Pau located in the heart of a valley between wooded hills and the Gave de Pau some 13 km south-east of Pau immediately east of Nay. The commune has been administered by the department of

since 1969 (formerly it had been in the Department of Basses-Pyrénées since 1793). The commune has about 300 houses. The altitude varies from 230 metres to 421 metres, with 243 metres in the village centre. This is one of the largest communal areas of the region with areas of plains and hilly areas with a livable areas in the north and in the hamlets. Access to the commune is by road D37 from Saint-Abit in the north passing through the village and the northern corner of the commune continuing to Bourdettes in the south. The D936 goes west from the village then south-west to

Rébénacq Rébénacq (; oc, Revenac) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also * Ossau Valley * Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrén ...

. The D288 road goes south from the village through the length of the commune to join the D287 north of Lys. The D388 branches from the D288 and goes south-west by a different route to join the D288 again south-west of the commune. The D287 goes south-west from Nay passing along the south-eastern border of the commune and continuing south-west to

Sévignacq-Meyracq Sévignacq-Meyracq (; oc, Sevinhac e Meirac) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also * Ossau Valley *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 commu ...

.Google Maps
/ref> The commune is 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 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. ...

with the Luz flowing from the south through the length of the commune collecting many tributaries and continuing north to join the Gave de Pau near Narcastet. The Escourre flows north through the northern corner of the commune and the north-eastern tip of the commune touches the Gave de Pau.

Places and Hamlets

* Allemand (hill) * Bacabara * Barbé * Barrère * Barthe * Bées * Bégué * La Bernadie * Bois de Bié (forest) * Blanquet * Blon * Bouhabent * Bourda-Plà * Bouria * Bozom * Brouquet * Brousset * Cabarry * Casamayou * Casenave * Castéra * Cataline * La Châtaigneraie (two places) * Grange Clédou * Couchies * Coumet * Daguès-Bié * Gahuset * Guillamasse * Habarna * Habe * Haure * Hourcade * Jupé * Labasserres * Labourie * Lacrouts * Ladebat * Lambrou * Lanot * Lasbordes * Bois de Lauga (forest) * Lème Carraze * Lème Monlucou * Lolou * Grange Lolou * Lombré * Massaly (ruins) * Michelat * Grange Miramon * Moncaut (spring) * Mondaut * Grange Monsempès * Moun du Rey * Mourtérou * Nérios * Ourthe * L'Oustau * Paloc * Petit Paloc * Pareil * Pédemelou * Le Petit Hameau * Picourlat * Plà * Le Point de Vue * Porteteny * Rieupeyrous * Thomas * Toulet * Tourne (ruins)

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is ''Arros de Nai''.

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 ...

, with much reservation, suggested an Aquitaine root of ''(h)arr'' ("stone" or "rock") with the suffix ''-ossum'', which gives a meaning "where there are rocks". 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

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

Cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

of the Château of PauManuscripts in two volumes from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *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 – Arros-de-Nay
/ref> Origins: *Marca: Pierre de Marca, ''History of Béarn''. Pierre de Marca, ''History of Béarn'' *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques On 27 January 1932 the prefect, citing consecutive administrative mistakes from the plurality of the name Arros in the department (Arros Canton of Nay, Arros Canton of Oloron), decided to associate the name of the chief town of the canton with that of the commune and asked the Municipal Council to endorse his decision. The council of the time complied and the name became Arros-de-Nay.

History

The first traces of the village date to the 11th century when it was cited with the name ''Arrossium'' ("place where there are rocks"). In the 12th century a noble family (de Rode, d'Arrode, then d'Arros) who owned the Lordships of Rode, Vauzé, the

Viguerie In Southern France, a ''viguerie'' (; la, vicaria) was a mediaeval administrative court. A ''viguerie'' is named for the place it serves or is found in, that is, the main town of the borough, which need not be its (administrative capital). Appear ...

of Lembeye took possession of the fief which became ''Arrode'' then later ''Arros''. Paul Raymond noted that, in 1385, Arros had 44 fires and depended on the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Pau. Arros, with its hamlets towards Bosdarros ('Bois d'Arros'), was the seventh largest of the twelve large Baronies of Béarn.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors ;

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

from 1961

Inter-communality

The commune is part of seven inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes du Pays de Nay; * the AEP association of Nay-Ouest; * the Sanitation association of Pays du Nay; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association for the defence against floods of the Gave de Pau; * the inter-communal association for the defence against floods of the Luz; * the inter-communal association for the construction of the CES of Nay;

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 783 inhabitants.

Economy

The commune 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 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

Civil heritage

The Chateau of Arros (17th century) is registered as an historical monument.

Religious heritage

*The Parish Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (1835) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Education

Arros-de-Nay has a primary school.