¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Arudy (Gascon: Arudi) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arudyens or Arudyennes.^[1]

The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.^[2]

Geography

Arudy is located in the Ossau Valley on a bend on the Gave d'Ossau some 20 km south-east of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 16 km south of Gan. Access to the commune is by the D920 road from Buzy in the north passing through the commune just west of the town and continuing to Louvie-Juzon in the south. Access to the town is by the D53 connecting to the D920. The D287 also goes east from the town to join the D934 going north to Sévignacq-Meyracq. The D918 branches west from the D920 near the town and continues west through the north of the commune to Lurbe-Saint-Christau.^[3]

The SNCF railway line from Buzy-en-Béarn - Laruns which passed through the commune was closed to traffic for passengers on 2 March 1969.^[4] A bus connection remained in place until 1 September 2009. Freight traffic between Buzy-en-Béarn and Arudy survived until 2003. The facilities have now been dismantled.

The western hills of the commune are heavily forested with farmland in the valleys. The east of the commune in the Ossau Valley is mainly residential with some farmland.

Hydrography

Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the Gave d'Ossau forms the eastern border as it curves around the town and continues west, forming the northern border of the commune, to join the Gave d'Aspe to form the Gave d'Oloron at Oloron-Sainte-Marie. Many tributaries rise in the south of the commune and flow north to join the Gave d'Ossau including the Lamisou, the Arrec de Baycabe, the Ruisseau du Bois de Nougué, the Arrec de Lacerbelle, and the Ruisseau du Termy which forms the western border of the commune.^[3]

Places and Hamlets

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is Arudi.

According to Michel Grosclaude the name comes from the basque harr ("stone" or "rock") and uri ("town").^[6]

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Name	Spelling	Date	Source	Page	Origin	Description
Arudy	Eruri	1270	Raymond	14	Ossau	Village
	Aruri	1286	Grosclaude		Arudy/Iseste spoiled deed
	Aruri	1328	Grosclaude		Ossau-Val Treaty of Tena
	Aruri	1343	Raymond	14	Pardies
	Arury	1368	Grosclaude		Chéronnet
	Arudy	1375	Raymond	14	Luntz
	Aruri	1386	Grosclaude		Chéronnet
	Aruri	1399	Grosclaude		Manumission of Serfdom
	Aruri	1442	Grosclaude		Chéronnet
	Aruri	1466	Grosclaude		Chéronnet
	Aruri	1486	Grosclaude		Chéronnet
	Erudi	1487	Raymond	14	Ossau
	Arudi	1538	Raymond	14	Reformation
	Saint-Germain d'Arudy	1607	Raymond	14	Insinuations
	Arudy	1750	Cassini
Anglas	Anglès	1538	Raymond	6	Reformation	Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn
	Anglès	1863	Raymond	6
Baget	Baget	1863	Raymond	19		Hamlet
Bareilles	Barelhes	1385	Raymond	21	Census	Farm
Caillabère	la Caillabère	1863	Raymond	39		Mountain
Castet	Castet	1096	Raymond	45	Marca	Castet had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. In 1385 it depended on the bailiwick of Ossau and had 45 fires. Castet took its name from the Chateau of Castetgelos which was built in its territory.
	Castellum	1154	Raymond	45	Marca
	Casteg	1385	Raymond	45	Census
	Sent Policarpe de Casteig	1621	Raymond	45	Insinuations
Caubios	Caubios	1538	Raymond	47	Reformation	Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn
Col de Houn-Barrade	Le Col de la Houn-Barade	1863	Raymond	79		Mountain pass between Arudy and Izeste
Lanne	Lane	1385	Raymond	92	Census	Farm
Martouré	Martouré	1675	Raymond	109	Reformation	Hillock where the old Château of Arudy stood and where the fires for the Festival of Saint-Jean were lit
Mur	Meur	1675	Raymond	120	Reformation	A Group of rocks which were the destination for processions and another place where fires for the Festival of Saint-Jean were lit.
Pouts	Potz	1385	Raymond	139	Census	Farm
Sacase de Siot	Sciot	1675	Raymond	145	Reformation	Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn

Sources:

• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)^[5]
• Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 (in French)^[6]
• Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750^[7]

Origins:

• Ossau: Titles of the Ossau Valley^[8]
• Pardies: Notaries of Pardies (Monein)^[9]
• Chéronnet: Bernard Chéronnet^[10]
• Luntz: Contracts retained by Luntz^[11]
• Reformation: Reformation of Béarn^[12]
• Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of Oloron^[13]
• Census: Census of Béarn^[14]
• Marca: Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn.^[15]

History

The first traces of civilisation in the commune date to Prehistory or more precisely to the Magdalenian period. Excavations in four caves in the commune (Maladore, Poeymaü, Saint-Michel, and Espalungue) uncovered bones, tools, and many snail shells.

The village of Eruri or Aruri was mentioned at the beginning of the 13th century. It was from the beginning of that time that the Ossau Union was created which permitted relative independence for the communes in the valley until the French Revolution.

Paul Raymond noted on page 14 of his 1863 disctionary that the commune had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn, with 86 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Ossau.^[5]

It was in the 19th century that economic growth started in the commune. Sawmills and Marble quarries were created which provided a living to several hundred people. One quarry still operates today.

On 29 February 1980 Arudy was the epicentre of an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale and 7.5 on the MSK scale which damaged many buildings in the town.^{[citation needed]} The college had to be rebuilt.^{[citation needed]}

Heraldry

Blazon: Azure, a castle Argent of 3 towers turreted, masoned in sable and surmounted by a cow of Or horned.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[16]

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1995	2014	Gérard Cambot
2014	2020	Claude Aussant	DVG

(Not all data is known)

Inter-communality

The commune is part of six inter-communal structures:

• the Community of communes of the Ossau Valley;
• the local public management agency;
• the association for the perception of Arudy;
• the water association for the Ossau Valley;
• the electrification association for Bas-Ossau;
• the SIVU for sanitation for the Ossau Valley;

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 2,230 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
1,767	1,635	1,745	1,774	1,863	1,745	1,971	1,973	2,026

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
1,878	1,930	1,995	1,978	1,801	2,027	1,843	1,816	1,731

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,710	1,868	1,897	1,723	1,786	2,032	1,930	2,130	2,112

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
2,444	2,874	2,892	2,705	2,537	2,234	-	2,230	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Economy

Arudy has diverse economic activities:

• the commune has a large sheep breeding centre and strong activity related to hunting. Arudy forms part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty;
• the commune conserves and operates marble (gray-black) and limestone quarry sites. The Church of St. Severus in Assat, for example, was built in 1873 with Arudy limestone;
• There are wood and marble working industries;
• the Messier industrial foundry, a subsidiary of Ventana Aerospace Group, employs approximately 200 people. The foundry produces alloys of magnesium-thorium intended for the aviation industry. The machining of these materials has resulted in the production of waste containing thorium. 13.3 tonnes of the residue of thorium-magnesium alloys (Grime from the foundry, shavings from machining, miscellaneous scrap, etc.) are stored in a special location with a radioactivity of 1.9 GBq from thorium-232.^[17] The company faces economic difficulties and has been placed in a Judicial Recovery procedure by the Commercial Court on the 1 April 2010. The Commercial Court of Pau approved exit from the Judicial recovery safeguard procedure proposed by management and the court administrators of the Messier foundry in July 2011. Messier Foundry is a prime contractor in the CARAIBE collaborative project approved by the Aerospace Valley Pôle de compétitivité group and funded by the Fonds unique interministériel (Unique inter-miniterial funds) programme.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The Hôtel Pouts (17th century) is registered as an historical monument.^[18] It is an ancient Lay Abbey which later became a police station. The building was renovated in 1971 to house a museum: the Maison d'Ossau.

The Maison d'Ossau museum in the Hôtel Pouts displays regional archaeological collections, specimens of flora and fauna of the Pyrenees, and local costumes.

Arudy has 16th and 17th century houses, a bridge said to be Roman, and Lavoirs (public laundries) from the 19th century.

Religious heritage

• 

  Chapel dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michel

• 

  Cross dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michel

• 

  Cliff above the Chapel Saint-Michel

The Church of Saint-Germain (12th century, renovated in the 19th century) contains several items classified as historical objects:

• A Statue: Saint Germain (17th century)^[19]
• A Painting: Saint Germain the Auxerrois at prayer (17th century)^[20]
• A Retable on the main altar (17th century)^[21]
• A Processional cross: Saint Lucie (18th century)^[22]
• A Paschal Candlestick (17th century)^[23]

The interior of the chapel of Saint-Michel is decorated with paintings by Pierre Martinez.

Environmental heritage

The Abétat peaks at 1204 metres, the Gerbadure at 1254m, the Soum Counée at 1361m, the Bersaut at 1368m, the Hourquettes de Baygrand at 1386m, the Senzouens (or the Breque) at 1392m, and the Pic d'Escurets at 1440m.^[24]

Amenities

Education

The town has a public college,^[25] and one primary school. Another private primary school has been closed since the beginning of September 2011.

Sports and sports facilities

• ES Arudy^[26] is a Rugby club which plays in Fédérale 3;
• TCO tennis club provides coaching by a qualified instructor. They have three tennis courts: one clay court and two fast courts;
• The Arudy rock-climbing school is one of the busiest in the region. It consists of three main areas with over a hundred climbing routes fitted out.

Notable people linked to the commune

• Jean Darriule, born on 16 November 1774 at Arudy, was a French Lieutenant-General. His name features on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
• Georges Penabert, born on 23 April 1825 at Arudy
• Édouard Piette, born in 1827, directed the Upper Paleolithic excavation site in Arudy.
• Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, born on 25 April 1884 at Arudy, he was a road racing cyclist.
• Robert Barran, born on 13 January 1918 at Arudy, he was a Rugby league and Rugby union player.
• Georges Laplace, French anthropologist, born in 1918 and died in 2004 at Pau, in 1970 he founded the centre for stratigraphic Paleo-ethnology at Arudy.

Bibliography

• René Arripe, Ossau 1900: The Canton of Arudy, Loubatières, Toulouse, 1990 (in French)
• René Arripe, Ossau Valley 2000: The Canton of Arudy, R. Arripe, 2004, 782 pages

See also

• Ossau Valley
• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
• Route nationale 618
• Col d'Aubisque

Notes

References

External links

• Arudy on Lion1906
• Arudy on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Arudy on the INSEE website (in French)
• INSEE (in French)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arudy.