Auriac () 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 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Auriacois'' or ''Auriacoises''.

Geography

Auriac is located some 20 km north of Pau just east of Argelos. Access to the commune is by road D834 from

Sarron Sarron () 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 of the Landes department of France. The commu ...

in the north which passes through the commune and continues to Pau in the south. Access to the village is by road D944 from the village to Thèze in the north-west and the D227 from the village to Sévignacq in the south-east. The

A55 autoroute The A55 autoroute is a free motorway in southern France. It is long. The road starts at Marseille at La Joliette and ends to the west of Martigues where it becomes the N568 towards Arles and Nîmes. Exit list *01 (''Vieux-Port'') Towns serve ...

passes through the north of the commune with Exit 9 just north-east of the commune giving access to road D834. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.Google Maps
/ref>

Places and hamlets

* Alpin * Baix * Bernède * Blanc * Calot * Camot * Cassagne * Cazaudehore * Chin * Cournau * Duclos * Fam * Hourticq * Laborde * Madaune * Maribat * Moulin de Mugain * Mounpézat * Pénouilh * Périco * Pierroulou * Porte * Poudgé * Rey * Ser (forest) Géoportail
IGN

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Entrée dans Auriac (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

The commune name in béarnais is ''Auriac''. Michel Grosclaude said that the name probably comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

man's name ''Aurius'' with the Gallo-Roman suffix ''-acum'' giving "Domain of Aurius". The following table shows the origin of the commune name: Sources: *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

:''
''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''
p. 17, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 *Grosclaude: ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', 2006 Michel Grosclaude, ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, *Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750Cassini Map 1750 - Auriac
/ref> Origins: *Marca:

Pierre de Marca Pierre de Marca (24 January 1594 – 29 June 1662) was a French bishop and historian, born at Gan in Béarn of a family distinguished in the magistracy. His family was known among judicial circles in the 16th century, and maintained the ...

, ''History of Béarn''.

, ''History of Béarn'' p. 356

History

Paul Raymond noted that Auriac was once an annex of Argelos.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors Ancienne mairie d'Auriac (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

;Mayors from 1940

Inter-communality

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes des Luys en Béarn; * the SIVU for collective sanitation Auriac-Miossens-Lanusse-Thèze * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association for the management of drinking water from the Luy-Gabas-Lées; * the inter-communal association of Garlède-Lalonquette;

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 238 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *A House at Porte (16th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A House at Cazaudehore (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *Houses and Farms (16th and 19th centuries)

Religious heritage

The commune has two religious buildings that are registered as historical monuments: *The Parish Church of Saint-François-de-Sales (18th century) (destroyed) *The Parish Church of Saint-François-de-Sales (1885). This church was built in 1885 to replace the old church of the same name which appeared on the Cassini Map. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: **The furniture of the church **A

Chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

(18th century) **A Sun-ray Monstrance (19th century) **2

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

Candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are less frequently called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candl ...

s (19th century) **A

Chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

(19th century) **A

Prie-dieu A prie-dieu (French: literally, "pray oGod") is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but which may also be found in churches. A similar form of chair in domestic furniture is called "prie-dieu" by analogy. So ...

(19th century) **A

Stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

(19th century) **2 Altars, 4 altar seatings, and 2

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

s (1885) **An Altar, 2 altar seatings, a Tabernacle, and 2 Statues (1885) **3 Stained glass windows of people: Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Michael protecting a canon, and Saint John (1887)Ministry of Culture, Palissy

Facilities

Auriac has a primary school which also serves the communes of Garlède-Mondebat, Lalonquette et Miossens-Lanusse in an Educational Inter-communal Grouping.