Aressy (; oc, Arèssi) 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 ...

. It is part of the urban area (''

unité urbaine In France, an urban unit (''fr: "unité urbaine"'') is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a ...

'') of Pau. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arésyiens'' or ''Arésyiennes''

Geography

Aressy is located four kilometres south-east of Pau within the urban area of Pau. Access to the commune is by the D937 road from Pau which continues south-east to

Meillon Meillon (; oc, Melhon) 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 d ...

.Google Maps
/ref> The Idelis bus route P23 stops at Aressy Clinic at Pôle Bosquet. The commune is also served by Route 835 of the Interurban network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Transports 64) between Bénéjacq and Pau, and by Route 805 between

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

and Pau. Much of the commune is residential with some farmland and a large lake in the south. The

Gave de Pau The Gave de Pau () is a river of south-western France. It takes its name from the city of Pau, through which it flows. The river is long ( including the Gaves réunis), and its source is at the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees mountains. The ...

flows north-west through the western part of the commune, and the Lagoin flows through the centre of the commune before joining the Gave de Pau just north-west of the commune.

Places and Hamlets

* Las Costes * Labielle * Marque * Matachot * Le Saligat

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Its name in Bearnais is ''Aressi'' (according to the classical norm of

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

). Brigitte Jobbé-Duval Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, indicates that the place name could come from the Basque, meaning "place where there are rocks" which would confirm the hypothesis by

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 ...

of ''ar-'' ("stone or rock") with the Basque locative suffix ''-etz'' transformed into ''-esse''. The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: *Jobbé: Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques'' *

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

, ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, *Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750Cassini Map 1750 – Aressy
/ref> *Ldh/EHESS/Cassini: 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 ...

*Military: Military Inspection of BéarnManuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 9 of his dictionary that the commune had a

Lay Abbey Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

, vassal of 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 ...

. In 1385, Aressy had nine

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 depended on the bailiwick of Pau.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

Aressy is part of nine inter-communal structures: *the Public agency of local management; *the

Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées The communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées is a '' communauté d'agglomération'' in the ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ''région'' of France. It provides a framework within which local tasks co ...

; *the AEP association for the Jurançon region; *the defense against floods association for the Lagoin catchment area; *the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; *the inter-communal association for the Narcastet leisure centre; *the inter-communal association for defense against flooding of the Gave de Pau; *the inter-communal association for the construction and operation of the CES of Bizanos; *the Joint association for urban transport Pau - Porte des Pyrenees

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 712 inhabitants. Aressy War Memorial

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 bou ...

(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 B ...

Culture and Heritage

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint Denys (1874) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée