Anglet Plage 01

Anglet (; , )ANGELU
Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.

Anglet lies in the traditional province of Labourd of the Northern Basque Country while its inhabitants have traditionally spoken Gascon (Occitan).

Geography

Location

Anglet commune is part of the urban area of Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz (B.A.B.) located south-west of the city and part of the Basque province of Labourd. The commune is 10% covered with pine forests, including those of Pignada, Lazaretto, and Chiberta. The sandy coast starts 200 km north at the Pointe de Grave on the shore of the estuary of the Gironde and ends in Anglet. It is punctuated by numerous seawalls cutting the shore. At Anglet the outline of the public maritime domain has been updated and a coastal reserve wide has been observed since 1978. With its many bays and inlets this area is a laboratory for monitoring techniques for studying coastal erosion.

The Anglet coast is about 4.5 km long and has 11 beaches from north to south:
* Beach of la Barre;
* Beach of lesCavaliers;
* Beach of les Dunes;
* Beach of l'Ocean;
* Beach of la Madrague;
* Beach of la petite Madrague;
* Beach of les Corsaires;
* Beach of la Marinella;
* Beach of les Sables d'or;
* Beach of Club;
* Beach of VVF (''Village Vacances Famille'').

The ''French Basque Coast'' designates the part of the Aquitaine coast between the ''Chambre d'Amour'' cave at Anglet and the Spanish border.

Anglet has an airport Aéroport de Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne some south of the town accessible from the D810 road. It has flights to destinations across France as well as Europe.

Access

Anglet is served by the A63 autoroute, the D810 road from Bayonne to Anglet town, and the D260 road from Bayonne to the northern part of the commune and continuing south-west towards Biarritz.Google Maps
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During the winter season of 2013–2014 the A1, A2, C, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, and N (evening) ''Chronoplus'' bus routes operated by the ''Transdev agglomeration de Bayonne'' serve Anglet connecting it to other communes in the metropolitan area: Bayonne, Biarritz, Bidart, Boucau, Saint-Pierre-d'Irube, and Tarnos.

Hydrography

The Adour flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) between Anglet on the left bank and Tarnos on the right bank.

The commune is traversed by the following tributaries of the Adour:
*the Sarraoute
*the Artigou (as well as the tributary of this - the Zubiru with its own tributary the Hòssa)
*the Camoudiet (and its tributaries, the Aouassole and the Riu Tòrt)
*the Horc (with its tributaries - the Coumelade, the Mail, and the Canaou)
*the Prade (joined by the Horn)
*the Gaoube (and the Arm of the Gaoube)
*the Houillassat
*the Gaoubole
*the Hourclat
*the Larraoudille
*the Bon
*the Adour de Gripp (as well as its tributaries - the great Canabère, the Garet, the Picharotte, the Goutil de Thou, and the Aritz and its tributary the Goutil Sec)
*the May d'Escaret
*the Arrimoula
*the Adour de Lesponne (and its tributaries, the Cantalop, the Lhécou, the Riu Grand, the Brouilh, the Maouri, the Tos - and its tributaries: the Népoutre, the Arabède, and the Cétérou; the Narbeoz, the Beliou, the Binaros, the Glère - and its tributaries: the Great Garrot, the Lardezen, and the Hont Herèda)
*the Serris

Localities and hamlets

* Aritxague
* la Barre
* Blancpignon
* Bois Belin
* le Brise-Lames
* la Butte aux Cailles
* Camiade
* Cantau
* les Cavaliers
* la chambre d'Amour
* Chassin
* Château de Brindos
* Chiberta
* Choisy
* Cinq Cantons
* les Corsaires
* Courbois
* Girouette
* Hailtz
* Hardoy
* El Hogar
* Hondritz
* Irumendy
* Jorlis
* le Lazaret
* Louillot
* la Madrague
* Maignon
* Marinella
* Mauléon
* Montbrun
* Montdeville
* Moulinau
* l'Océan
* le Pavillon Chinois
* Péan
* Le Phare
* le Pignada
* Port du Soufre
* Quatre Cantons
* Refuge Notre-Dame
* les Sables d'Or
* Saint-Bernard
* Saint-Jean
* Salines
* Stella-Maris
* Sutar
* Tivoli
* Tour de Lannes
* Les Trois Croix
* Troissonat
* l'Union

Géoportail
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Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The origin of the name ''Anglet'' is Roman from the Latin ''angulus'', "Land shaped like a wedge" or "low terrain or depression". This last hypothesis was confirmed by Jean-Baptiste Orpustan who indicated that the official name and the basque name derived from two distinct strains of the same origin: ''angellu'', a diminutive of ''Angulu'', and cited by L. Michelena who affirmed that "low terrain" applies to "all the sandy beach-front in the commune".

The Basque name of the commune is ''Angelu'' and the Gascon name is ''Anglet''. The inhabitants are known as ''Anglòi'' in Gascon and ''Angeluar'' in Basque.

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Sources:

*Raymond:''
''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
*Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy''Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy'', Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006,

Origins:
*Cartulary: Cartulary of Bayonne or ''Livre d'Or'' (Book of Gold)Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
*Collations: Collations of the Diocese of BayonneManuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
*Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750Cassini Map 1750 - Asson
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*Chapter: Titles of the Chapter of BayonneChapter of Bayonne in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
*Saint-Claire: Titles of the Abbey of Sainte-Claire of BayonneTitles of the Abbey of Sainte-Claire of Bayonne - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Prehistory

Based on discoveries made, the oldest land in Anglet dates back to prehistory (mid-Paleolithic) and Mousterian culture (from 100,000 to 35,000 BC). Various flint tools characteristic of the Mousterian period have been discovered. The use of splinters on both faces to make sharp points (scratcher, scraper) allows working on skins and making axes with wooden handles. Around Anglet, including the Tower of Lannes, Brindos, and Sutar, open air locations high above low swampy parts were preferred as in other parts of Basque Country ( Saint-Pierre-d'Irube, Ilbarritz at Bidart, Duboscoa at Villefranque, Lahonce, Urt, and Bidache).

The prefecture of the Aquitaine region, considering the knowledge elements of the archaeological heritage of the commune currently identified in the archaeological database of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Aquitaine issued an order for the following sites: Brindos, Cote 50, La Ballastière of Micoteau (Sutar), and Hondritz referenced as having Paleolithic occupation. The sites in the Rue du Colombier and the Tower of Lannes are referenced to as prehistoric sites of refuge which also refers to occupation in proto-historic times (Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age).

Roman times

During the Roman era (towards 400 AD), Bayonne served as a castrum (in Novempopulania) for a cohort large enough for a rampart to be built (still visible in some places) surrounding an area somewhat excessive for an Army (seven hectares), but no remains indicate that there was a city (no theatre, no ruins of villas or baths, etc.). At that time, the regional Roman capital was "Aquae Augustae" ( Dax) and the people living in the geographical area between Dax and Oiartzun (which included the commune of Anglet) called themselves Tarbelli. Furthermore, there is evidence that outside these walls, there were many potters who worked for the Roman cohort.''Bayonne – City of Art and History'', Dominique Duplantier

Middle Ages

The history of Anglet actually appears from the Middle Ages where it was discovered that the core of the oldest settlement is located in a rural area called "Berindos" which is Brindos (mentioned in 1083). There are some remains of a mill, dating to the 12th century, which was used to grind corn (the ''Moulin de Brindos''). Two grindstones for wheat and the mule barn are still present. It was also found that Berindos was a parish or at least included a church from the 12th century. This area is located south of the airport: its agricultural past has disappeared under residential urbanization and development.

The mill is now a ruin: saved from demolition in 2000 by a local association (Ardatza-Arroudet, Friends of the Mills of Basque and Béarn Country). A developer planned to replace it with a parking lot for a shopping area. Authorizations were granted at that time. However, what is probably one of the oldest (12th century) heritage buildings of the city remains although the house, as old as the mill, was destroyed in 1978. A fire destroyed part of the mill in 2011, creating a need for security in 2013.

In the parish of Brindos there are ancient lordships and noble houses: the Domain of Urcos (1149) and the ''Terra de Sincos'' (1141). Other areas of population also appear in the Book of Gold of Bayonne namely:
*a farm at Sutar (1083 spelled ''Huzater''),
*Places at Irandatz and Andotz (1149)
*Nalbais/Naubeis (1083),
*Fausegi (1198),
*Fondarraga

There are also references to orchards and mills at Mufale/Aumufale (on the Anglet border) and at Balaison/Balichon. In the current area of Pontots/Beyries there is also ''Dames de Montori'' (not Montaury), a religious order of Saint-Bernard d'Esteyron (no relation to the Bernardines of the nineteenth century) who established themselves on the Route de Biarritz. They later moved to the right bank (which was perhaps their original monastery) and were dependent on the Bishop of Dax and not of Bayonne.

Anglet also had a port area, Fausquette/Hausquette, where resin, wine, cider (then called "pomade") and wheat (then called blat) were loaded. The Hausquette Mill cited in 1256 in the ''Book of Gold of Bayonne'' is located on the Maharin Stream near this port. The building is now a private house located at 181 rue de Hausquette still visible and referred to by the city as a "Route for walking and cycling - Streams and fountains - Discover the historic and natural heritage of Anglet".

In the Middle Ages, Bayonne was already a fortified city under English domination from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The population became more numerous and extended beyond the perimeter walls to settle in the suburbs surrounded by fields and vineyards where the suburb of Saint Léon was an extension from the gate of the same name. The chronicler Froissart stated that "the suburb (was) as important as the city". Saint Léon was organized around its church (Saint Léon) and extended to the "Port of Beyries" and "to the Arritzague Stream". The church dates back to 1089. Two parishes seem to have been identified: Saint Léon and Brindos. However, before the end of the 16th century, Bayonne was taken from the English by the Kingdom of France and the suburbs were demolished (Saint Léon, Marracq, and Beyris) as being too close and too prejudicial to the defence of the walled city, which concentrated within the confines of the existing small and large Bayonne (which explains the density and height of buildings in the centre of Bayonne). France was wary of Spain who tried several times to capture Bayonne (1523 and 1552).

In 1557, the Saint Léon church was demolished and transferred to its current location in 1564 in front of the current town hall of Anglet. As Manex Goyhenetche points out in his book on Anglet, the city was then "the surrounding countryside of Bayonne", "densely populated rural suburb of peasants". It was more than a single entity, but a set of different districts including religious buildings (chapels) which have disappeared today. It was a large rural territory dominated by a topography of landforms (plateaus and terraces) and lower parts (Barthes and streams) covered various agricultural operations, woods, orchards, vineyards, and mills which lived on agriculture and cattle.

The rivalry between Anglet and Bayonne

Bayonne then had a monopoly on trade and fishing in the whole basin of the Adour from Biarritz to Capbreton. Bayonne tried to master the marshy strip of land that was once on the left bank of the river when the natural mouth of the Adour was much further north (located in the tenth century at Cape Breton then, after yet another quirk of the River, at Vieux Boucau from 1310 to 1578). The major event of this period was the diversion of the Adour. Trade in Bayonne declined due to the remoteness of the river mouth and especially the silting of the Adour that prevented large vessels enter the estuary. Louis de Foix, an engineer sent by the king, succeeded, after many efforts using local labour, in diverting the river to allow an exit for the Adour only from Bayonne.

Rivalries and conflicts between Anglet and Bayonne continued for the jurisdiction and rights over this sandy strip of land that was now cut in half, with one part north of the Adour and not solely on the left bank of the river, which complicated the situation even more. A war of justification of the boundary marks and rights therefore intensified between the two cities to see who could enjoy the sands of Gauseirans where were identified as "Les Pignadas". The name of Gauseirans/Betenave would be resumed in Gibraltar and then "basquised" to ''Chimberta'' and ''Chiberta''.

In the texts of the city of Bayonne, it says to maintain the rights to the land and demand the sand. Conversely, England on its side tried to justify the demarcation, especially those "north of the river", and showed grazing agreements from 1395 and 1525 before the diversion ("to Betenave, located in the vast space of Gauseirans containing the sand and pignadas attached "to the farm lands" of Anglet"). This did not deter the rivalry that continued throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and finally ended in settlement agreements.

18th century

Besides the issue of communal boundaries, the rivalry was exacerbated by the antagonism of behaviour between the Bayonne bourgeoisie and the Anglet peasantry. At that time, the lords, nobles and bourgeois of Bayonne bought land at Anglet but fled from community measures and obligations (particularly in terms of taxation). Despite careful control of the people and the obstinacy of the peasants, some aristocrats from Bayonne won a fight which was not played on equal terms.

At that time, many of the inhabitants of Anglet were herdsmen who sought ox carts to bring fertilizer to their land from the stables of Bayonne. These oxen were used to transport goods between Bayonne, Saint Jean de Luz and Spain as well as to maintain their vineyards, corn, or wheat fields. In the pignadas, the resin or "gem" is harvested from pine trees for producing candles or to allow the caulking of ships as well as for making soap, perfume, and many household goods. Plastic and synthetic products would destroy his employment and his crop. There were also plantations of cork oak used for many purposes (corks but also very fashionable for planting in the 19th century).Autrefois Anglet, Éditions Atlantica, Philippe Salquain, p.60-62 ''In the Forest of Cork Oaks'' p.66/68/70 ''Harvest of resin in the Pignadas''.

During the Revolution and the Empire there was "a double movement of land grabbing and dilapidation of heritage" to convert land under cultivation at the expense of the old houses of Anglet who used communal land for their flocks. In 1812, an image of the town is provided by the Mayor of the time: "a population of 1965 souls (...) houses are distant from each other without any rallying point that the church (Saint Léon) provided". At Anglet, most of the people were small farmers although some wealthy Bayonne people settled in the commune such as the binder and lithographer Jean Bernain who bought "Quintau" in 1787.

The difficulties were compounded by the wars of the Revolution and the billeting of troops "at extraordinary and necessary expense occasioned by the cavalry (Napoleonic), the train of artillery, and the troops of the line" who stayed during their passage to the Spain. The same then occurred in 1814 by Wellington's British troops during the fighting that devastated the Blancpignon forest, then returning to Spain to face the routed Napoleonic army routed (who took refuge within the walls of Bayonne). Part of the population abandoned Anglet in 1813 and 1814 to escape to the north or south. In 1822 cholera struck Anglet.

In March 1815, during the disorders caused by the Hundred Days and after the Battle of Waterloo, a Spanish army commanded by the Earl of Labisbal made a brief foray beyond the Bidassoa to Anglet and Ustaritz. These troops made a fighting retreat after an intervention by Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, with the Spanish monarch Ferdinand VII.''The Basques'', Philippe Veyrin, Arthaud, 1975, 1st edition 1947,

19th century, the transformation of Anglet, a rural area in an urban space

In 1838–1839, Father Cestac acquired the property Châteauneuf to install the institution of ''Our Lady of refuge'' and create a community of servants of Mary away from the city and the critics (they collected young prostitutes wishing to exit). This property now has the last agricultural land between Chiberta forest and the Boulevard BAB. Father Cestac did not have much money which forced him to work the land with his community who were unaccustomed to working the land. The nuns founded a school, cultivated and cleared most of the land surrounding the Refuge, which grew considerably. Beyond the corn fields, near the forest, there are greenhouses where they still maintain today decorative flowers and gardens (on the other side of the Avenue de Montbrun). Some of them wanted to go further in their work of prayer and meditation, namely absolute silence. These were the Bernardines who settled in the area about a kilometre from the Refuge near the greenhouses. Next to the Bernardine convent is the cemetery for Bernardines and the Servants of Mary with more than 300 graves in sand - all symmetrically aligned and decorated with a shell cross. This site is unique in France. Each year, they are rebuilt during the season of Lent because the weather erodes them. Nearby there is also a chapel of straw with a sand floor (Our Lady of Solitude), symbol of the greatest austerity of their religious faith.

Early in 1870 it was decided to build a racetrack on the sands of Chiberta to develop a new area of recreation and tourism on the current site of La Barre like its neighbour biarrot. This racecourse included fifty hectares of land previously used for the cultivation of vines and some market gardening, while crystallizing a divide between tourism development then reserved for the elite and the peasants, still rooted in the rural world. Its creation was due to a cousin of the mayor of Bayonne, Felix Labat, supported by an Englishman, Lord Howden, a former Spanish ambassador and owner of the Château de Caradoc in Bayonne. The racecourse and shopping places became the most fashionable distraction on the Basque coast. This was the rendezvous of all the "elite" of the time who came to show themselves in the elegant galleries.

In 1877 the BAB (Bayonne Anglet Biarritz) railway line of "American railway" (steam tram) type was inaugurated. It served Anglet through the "Five Cantons" halt near the Villa Marie Antoinette. However, it was critical that the new railway crossed rural roads in the commune by unmanned level crossings (causing many accidents) while avoiding the administrative centre of Saint John. The concern was not to serve the people of Anglet but to link Bayonne to Biarritz.

It was not until 1888 that a new line (BLB) connected Bayonne to Biarritz along the National Route N10 and strengthened the intersection located in the Saint John district. BLB quickly became more attractive than the BAB, especially because of its coverage of Saint John - the administrative district - and the Marracq High School stop in Bayonne where many students were enrolled from Anglet.

In 1884–1885, the first bathing establishment opened its doors on the House of Love beach wishing to compete with the baths in Biarritz. Swimmers had at their disposal: seventy-five cabins, a wide assortment of bathing suits, and a swimming coach who personally watched over them.

On 9 January 1924 the town was hit by a "tsunami" that destroyed the racetrack (it never succeeded in recovering from this disaster). The bathing establishment, also hit hard, was rebuilt away.

It was not until the mid-1920s that the company BALF (Biarritz-Anglet-Forest) acquired 150 new hectares to create the Chiberta Golf Course (1927). In 1928 a second bathhouse was created at the House of Love, with a saltwater pool, a dozen "cabanas" (cabins with private bathrooms), and a large hall (the whole occupies 15,000 m2). Its art deco style is signed Anatole Durruty. This property attracted the biggest names in high society of the time (the Baroness de Rothschild, the Maharajah of Jasdan, the Grand Duke Dimitri, the King and Queen of Spain, the Prince of Wales, Buster Keaton etc.) and caused a real buzz for the performances, sporting events, galas and world exhibitions. This was the golden age of Anglet.

In 1929, the city was classified as a "resort". The three cities, Bayonne, Anglet, and Biarritz agreed to the creation of an airport offering international services which was located two-thirds in the commune of Anglet.

The VFDM railway line (Voies Ferrées Départementales du Midi) which links Bayonne to Hendaye

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