Sorde-l'Abbaye
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Sorde-l'Abbaye (; ) is a commune, in the department of Landes and the region of
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
in southwestern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.INSEE commune file
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Geography

The commune is situated on the edge of the Pays d'Orthe, a territory which was once under the control of the vicomté de Gascogne. These lands are irrigated by the
gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron () is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade ...
river, which is a tributary of 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 although its source is considered to be on the Cirque de Gavarnie in t ...
. In 1920, a
hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...
was built on this river, on the site of a mill belonging to the abbey.


History

Situated on the via Turonensis, an ancient road between Landes and
Pyrénées The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. F ...
, Sorde l'Abbaye was visited from the
Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
and experienced a revival in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
as a result of pilgrimage to Compostella. The site of Barat-de-Vin (in Gascon, "barat de bi") not far from the village, has been a thoroughfare for at least two thousand years, and was inhabited by ancient man who would have been attracted by the fertility of the
Adour The Adour (; ; ) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High- Bigorre ( Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. is known as the ' ...
river valley.
Prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
remains of the Upper Paleolithic period have been recovered at nearby Duruthy cave, which was classified as a historic monument on 13 April 1962. At the foot of a cliff on this site, several prehistoric deposits yielded remarkable artefacts of the
Magdalenian Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; ) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years before present. It is named after the type site of Abri de la Madeleine, a ro ...
period. On top of the cliff there was a
protohistorical Protohistory is the period between prehistory and written history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures that have developed writing have noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their ...
''
oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...
'' called Larroque. excavations along the
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
leading to
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
via the Col de Cize also revealed a
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
decorated with
mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
. In
Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...
and
Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...
, ancient names for the local area, the rivers were small streams which had their source in the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
mountains. In
Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
, they supplied water to the
Roman baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
, and in the Middle Ages were used to power
water mills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
and for salmon trapping. In the area around Sorde, there are several places where the two rivers can be crossed by boat. The
toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
of some houses, today named "Passager" or "Passage", identifies these sites, as do the
placenames Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
"l'Hôpital" or "l'Espitaou", which indicate that pilgrims once stayed there overnight. Boats were not always necessary, however. There is also a ford which is easy to cross, except during the thaw in
Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
. At the end of the 12th century,
Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
apparently ended the practice of robbing pilgrims at this place. However much the river was a problem for pilgrims, it was also an economic asset for local inhabitants. The water was exploited with watermills as well as salmon traps, or "baros", which were devised by
monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
and trap the fish by repelling the current. These remained in use until 1923. The salmon were a major source of revenue for the abbey, which was able to catch up to a
hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...
per year.


Population


Sights

The Gallo-Roman mosaics of Sorde are found at the abbot's house of the abbey of St John, which is behind the church. Some fragments were found around 1870 but most were discovered starting in 1957, particularly during excavations which took places from 1958 to 1966. All the mosaics are registered as historic monuments. These marble mosaics were part of a Gallo-Roman villa which was probably constructed in the 3rd century. There is no remaining trace of the villa walls in the courtyard of the abbot's house, but the interior of the
caldarium image:Caldarium.JPG, 230px, ''Caldarium'' from the Roman baths at Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor. A (also called a ''calidarium'', ''cella ca ...
and
frigidarium A ''frigidarium'' is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or ''thermae'', namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool. The succession of bathing activities in the ''thermae'' is not known with certainty, but it is tho ...
of the villa baths can be seen. Graves were dug into the mosaics by post-Roman inhabitants. Nucleus MHNT PRE 2009.0.210.1.jpg, NucléusMHNT PRE 2009.0.210.2 (2).jpg, Lame MHNT PRE 2009.0.211.2.fond.jpg, (Toulouse) Dent d'ours percée - Grotte Duruthy - Musée de Toulouse MHNT.PRE2010.0.13.1.jpg, (Toulouse) Dent de lion percée - Grotte Duruthy - Musée de Toulouse MHNT.PRE2010.0.13.3.jpg, (Toulouse) Dent d'ourse percée et gravée d'un poisson - Grotte Duruthy - Musée de Toulouse MHNT.PRE2010.0.13.4..jpg,


See also

*
Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French ...


References


External links


Community of the communes of the Pays d'Orthe

Sorde l'Abbaye on the official site of the ''Centre Culturel du Pays d'Orthe''

Office of Tourism of the Pays d'Orthe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sordelabbaye Communes of Landes (department) World Heritage Sites in France