Sare, and
Souraïde and decreed that these communes like the other communes of the Spanish border were "infamous communes". This was extended to
Biriatou,
Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains (; ) is a town in the traditional Northern Basque Country, Basque province of Labourd, now in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. It lies on the south-western bank of the river Nive ...
,
Larressore,
,
Mendionde, and
Macaye.
The people were "united in various national houses, or in the district of
Ustaritz
Ustaritz (; ) is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, southwestern France. It is located on the river Nive some inland from Bayonne. Ustaritz station has rail connecti ...
or in the Great Redoubt, like
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
". In reality, they were gathered together in churches and then deported in very precarious conditions in
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
,
Capbreton,
Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse, and
Ondres.
The Departments where people from the communes were interned were the
Lot, the
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.[Gers
Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...]
, the
Landes, the
Basses-Pyrénées (partly béarnaise), and
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...
.
The return of exiles and the recovery of their possessions were determined by a series of decrees issued on 29 September and 1 October 1794, driven in this direction by the Director of Ustaritz who said: "The onetime communes of Sare, Itxassou, Ascain, Biriatou, and Serres, whose inhabitants were interned eight months ago as a measure of general safety, have not been improved. The people who come to obtain freedom to retire to their homes, clamour for food without my being able to procure the means to meet this primary human need, hunger.". The recovery of their possessions was not without difficulty, they were placed in receivership but were not registered and were looted: "The property, movable and immovable, of the inhabitants of Sare, were neither recorded nor legally described, and all our furniture and household effects were removed and brought confusedly to neighbouring communes. Instead of being put in safe places, some were sold at auction and sometimes sold without auction.".
19th–20th centuries
During the
retreat of the Napoleonic Army from Spain in 1813,
Labourd
Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques '' département'' of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component pa ...
villages were again submitted to abuse by the Confederate British and Spanish troops.
Under the
German occupation of France during World War II
The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
many of these frontier villages were fully administered by the German military, but were also an escape route for British soldiers,
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
members, and European Jews trying to reach non-belligerent Spain.
Heraldry
Administration
List of successive mayors of Ainhoa
Intercommunality
Ainhoa is one of seven intercommunal organisations:
*the
Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque
*the SIVU Errebi
*the SIVU for the implementation of Natura 2000 on the Mondarrain and Artzamendi mountain ranges
*the AEP Nive-Nivelle Union
*the "Bizi Garbia" mixed union
*the union to support Basque culture
*the energy union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Population
The commune is part of the
urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
of Bayonne. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ainhoars'' in French.
Economy
Iron ore was mined until the 19th century. Its initial operation was by the
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
of Saint-Sauveur of Urdax.
The weaving of
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
(''tisserands'') and wool (''duranguiers'') persists in Ainhoa where in
Hasparren
Hasparren (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. A resident of Hasparren is known as a 'Hazpandar'.
Geography Location
It's a ''commune fait partie'' of the Basque Province of Labourd.
The Cô ...
it was an important activity until the advent of the textile industry in the 19th century.
Philippe Veyrin noted the existence of a factory making "chahako", small goatskins from male goats which peasants use for work or hunting. Ainhoa is part of the Appellation zone (AOC) for the production of
pimentos of
Espelette
Espelette (; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies in the traditional Basque province of Labourd.
Sights
The town is attractive, with traditional Labourd houses and a castle. The protected ...
and also the AOC of the
Ossau-Iraty
Ossau-Iraty () is a Basque cheese made from sheep's 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 Béarn ...
. The activities in the commune are mainly agricultural and forestry (500 hectares of forest over an area of 1619 hectares). A quarry is always operating in the municipality.
Culture and heritage
The town has received an award from the ''
Most beautiful villages in France'', an award from an independent organization to promote the tourist attractions of small communes rich with quality heritage.
Languages
According to the ''Map of the Seven Basque Provinces'' by Prince
Louis-Lucien Bonaparte published in 1863, the dialect of Basque spoken in Ainhoa is ''
labourdin''.
Civil heritage
The village is laid out as a fortified town, with concealed labourdine houses from the 17th century and a
fronton open square against the cemetery surrounding the church.
*The Alhaxurruta Fountain well is present between the village and the Dancharia area and was noticed by
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
and
Eugénie de Montijo
Eugénie de Montijo (; born MarÃa Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920) was Second French Empire, Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 ...
during a tour here on 23 September 1858.
Religious heritage
*The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (13th century) is registered as an historical monument.
*The Chapel of Notre-Dame-d'Aubépine (Mary appeared to a young shepherd in a hawthorn bush (or ''arantza'' in Basque) hence the other name of the chapel Our Lady of Aranzazu) has had a Way of the Cross since 1886, a grotto since 1897, and a Calvary since 1898. In the 18th century, the parish of Ainhoa subsidized the hermit of the chapel to teach reading and writing to the shepherds and children in nearby farms who could not easily access the town.
[Philippe Veyrin, The Basques, Arthaud, 1975, , page 172. ]
The cemetery contains
Hilarri from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Image:Ainhoa Eglise.JPG, The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
File:Ainhoa Notre-Dame de l'Assomtion vitrail770.JPG, Stained glass in the church
Image:2007 Cimetière.JPG, The cemetery
Image:Ainhoa Stèle2.JPG, Discoidal Stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
File:Ainhoa Stèle4.JPG, Tabular Stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
Image:Ainhoa Stèle5.JPG, Discoidal Stele
Image:Ainhoa_Eglise_et_cimetierre.jpg, Church and cemetery
Image:Ainhoa_cimetierre_et_fronton.jpg, Cemetery
Image:Ainhoa_stèle_discoîdale.jpg, Headstone
Image:Ainhoa_stèle_discoïdale.jpg, Headstone
File:Ainhoa Calvaire2.JPG, The Calvary
Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified.
Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
dating to 1898
File:Ainhoa Croix8.JPG, Rectangular Cross
Environmental heritage
Ainhoa Forest stretches over 400 hectares and is home to a rich fauna of both wild animals (
deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
,
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...
,
hares
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...
, and migratory birds) and semi-wild pastoral animals (
pottok
The Pottok or Pottoka ( or , ), is an endangered, semi-feral breed of pony native to the Pyrenees of the Basque Country in France and Spain.
It is considered an ancient breed of horse, particularly well adapted to the harsh mountain areas it ...
s, "bestisos", and
goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...
). The forest consists mainly of
oak tree
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...
s, rustic essence and newer vegetation such as
red American oak and softwood).
Facilities
Sports facilities
Pelota is played in the
Fronton in the village and the covered fronton at ''Ur Hegian''.
Education
The town has a public primary school.
Health
Two GPs are present in the town.
Notable people linked to the commune
*Jean-Pierre Duvoisin, born in 1810 at Ainhoa and died in 1891 at
was a Basque writer.
See also
*
Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
The following is a list of the 545 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 202 ...
Notes
References
External links
Ainhoa official website AINHOA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)*[https://besidestheobvious.net/2020/09/14/this-article-is-a-review-of-our-six-more-recommended-towns-to-visit-in-the-french-basque-country-bayonne-biarritz-saint-jean-de-luz-hendaia-espelette-and-ainhoa-here-you-will-find-what-to-expect/ Iparralde: the 6 best towns in French Basque Country]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainhoa, Pyrenees-Atlantiques
Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Labourd
Plus Beaux Villages de France