Ascarat ()AZKARATE
Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia 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 are known as ''Azkaratear''.

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, Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque language
(Basque)

Geography

Ascarat is located in the former province of

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

in the Aldudes Valley immediately north-west of

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John t theFoot of hePass"; eu, Donibane Garazi; es, San Juan Pie de Puerto) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothi ...

. Access to the commune is by the D918 road from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port which passes through the length of the commune on the eastern side and continues to Louhossoa. The D15 road goes north-west from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port through the southern part of the commune continuing to Irouléguy. Access to the village is by country roads - Garategana from the D15 and Learraa from the D918. There are substantial forests in the commune however about 70% of the land area is farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by ...

river forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows north to join 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. ...

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-Aquitaine r ...

. Three streams flow into the Nive in the commune: the Nive d'Arnéguy, the Nive de Béhérobie, the Berroko erreka, and the Pagolako erreka.

Places and hamlets

* Apelchénéa * Arbelarréa * Arrécharborda * Béhérekoetchéa * Bentaberria * Beskinaénéa * Bidartéa * Bordia * Burugorriénéa * Caracotchéa * Choko Ona * Errékaldéa * Fargas (château) * Ferrandoénéa * Garatégaïna * Haranbiako Borda * Harguinaénéa * Harguinchuria * Hirureta * Indartéa * Iputchaénéa * Ithurraldéa * Ithurricheta * Jauberria * Pontoussénéa * Puchulua * La Solitude * Tofinaenea * Uhaldéa Géoportail
IGN

Toponymy

The name ''Ascarat'' appears in the forms: *''Ascarat'' (1106Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy'', Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, ), *''Escarat'' (13th century), *''Azcarat'' (1350), *''Atzcarat'' (1366), *''Azquarat'' (1413), *''Axcarat'' (1513,''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011, p. 15 Titles of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

Titles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda ), *''Axcarate'' (1621, Martin Biscay''Derecho de naturaleza que la merindad de San-Juan-del-pie-del-puerto, una de las seys de Navarra, tiene en Castilla - 1622 petit in-4° ), and *''Sanctus Julianus d'Ascarat'' (1763, Collations of the Diocese of BayonneManuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques ). Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicated that the name is composed of ''aitz'' ("rock") and ''garate'' ("high place"), giving "a height of rocks". ''Chubitoa'' was a hamlet in Ascarat and Anhaux, mentioned in 1863''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
p. 50 ''Jauréguy'' was a fief, vassal of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

, cited in the 1863 dictionary''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
p. 85 as was ''Larragoyen''.''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
p. 94 The commune name in basque is ''Azkarate''.

History

The parish was mentioned in 1256 and was "ravaged by soldiers" in 1396. In 1391 Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry included the modern communes of

Anhaux Anhaux ()ANHAUZE
Irouléguy, and

Lasse Lasse is a common masculine given name in Nordic countries. It is also often a nickname for people named Lars or Lauri. People Notable people named Lasse include: * Lasse Aasland (1926–2001), Norwegian politician *Lasse Åberg (born 1940), S ...

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

The commune is part of nine inter-communal structures: * the

Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque The communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque ( eu, Euskal Hirigune Elkargoa), is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the cities of Bayonne and Biarritz. It is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques depa ...

; * the SIVOS of Garazi; * the SIVU Hiruen Artean; * the AEP association of Anhice; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association for sanitation of Ur Garbi; * the inter-communal association for the management and development of the abattoir at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port; * the joint association for the Drainage basin of the Nive; * the association to support Basque culture.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 321 inhabitants.

Economy

The commune is part of the production zone 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) of Irouléguy and also of the AOC zone 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 ...

. Economic activity is mainly agricultural.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

There are several houses and farms in the commune which are registered as historical monuments. These are: *Uhaldea House (18th century) Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

*Harizpea Farm (1587) Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

*Chateau de Vergues (or Chateau de Fargas) (18th century) Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

*Houses and Farms (17th-19th centuries) Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Julien-d'Antioche Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

is of medieval origin was heavily rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Notable people linked to the commune

*Pierre Narbaitz, born in 1910 at Ascarat and died in 1984 at Cambo-les-Bains, was a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, writer, and a basque French academic of the Basque and

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...