Baleix 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 ...

of 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 ''Baleichois'' or ''Baleichoises''.

Geography

Baleix is located in the Montanérès overlooking the Lées Valley some 26 km north-east of Pau and 10 km south of

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

. Access to the commune is by the D7 road from Saint-Jammes in the west which passes through the length of the commune and the village and continues east to Casteide-Doat. The D145 comes from Lespourcy in the south-west and passes through the village to continue north to Anoye. Apart from the village there is also the hamlet of ''Tisné'' north-east of the village. The commune is mostly farmland with a few scattered small forests.Google Maps
/ref> The Lées flows through the east of the commune from the south and continues north to join the Adour near Aire-sur-l'Adour. The ''Petit Lées'' comes from the south and flows north-east through the commune to join the Lées.

Places and hamlets

* Balespouey * Baradat * Berbouly * Capcazaux * Capsus (land) * Castille * La Caussade * Clos * Dujardin * Guilhas * Hourpelat * Jeandavid * Jouanolou * La Moulère * Noau * Pucheu * Puyo * Sarthou * Tisné * Trémoulets * Vignau

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Michel Grosclaude said that etymologically the name comes from the Gascon ''Balèch'' meaning "plateau". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. 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''
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 – Baleix
/ref> Origins: *Lescar: Cartulary of

Lescar Lescar (; oc, Lescar) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. Lescar is the site of the Roman city known variously as Benearnum, Beneharnum or Civitas Benarnensium, the lo ...

Cartulary of the

Bishop of Lescar The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lescar (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lascurrensis;'' French: ''Diocèse de Lescar''; Basque: ''Leskarreko elizbarrutia''), in south-western France, was founded in the fifth century, and continued until 1790. It was originally ...

, published in the proofs of the ''History of Béarn'' by

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 ...

*Marca:

, ''History of Béarn''.

,
Histoire de Bearn
', La Veuve Jean Camusat, 1640, 850 pages * Fors de BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of Béarn *Terrier: The Terrier of Baleix.Manuscript from the 18th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 20 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 there were 22

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

and it depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Baleix fief was subject to the

Viscounts of Béarn The viscounts of Béarn (Basque: ''Bearno'', Gascon: ''Bearn'' or ''Biarn'') were the rulers of the viscounty of Béarn, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque province ...

. The commune has long been occupied as evidenced by the discovery of a fortified camp surrounded by a moat with visible remains of earthworks. During the medieval period the commune was a member of the Commandery of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

of Caubin and Morlaàs.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

The commune is part of four inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes du Nord-Est Béarn; * the SIVOM of the Canton of Montaner; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association for the supply of drinking water Luy-Gabas-Lees;

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 143 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *A Farmhouse at Sarthou (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A House at Jean David (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A House at Castille (1623)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *The Bourdallé House (18th century) *The Coulomé Farmhouse (1789) *The Bélengou House (18th century) *The Arnautou House at Clos (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *Houses and Farms (17th-19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Religious heritage

*The Parish Church of Saint-Martin (12th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Church contains a very large number of items that are registered as historical objects.