Abitain (; eu, Abitaine) is a commune 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in southwestern

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 ar ...

. The inhabitants are known as ''Abitainois'', or ''Abitaonoises''.

Geography

Location

Abitain is bordered on the eastern side by the Gave d'Oloron about 20 km southeast of Peyrehorade and 11 km southwest of Salies-de-Béarn. Access to the commune is by road D936 from Escos in the north, passing south down the eastern side of the commune through the village and continuing to Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren in the south.

Hydrography

Located in the

Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Adour, the commune's eastern border is the Gave d'Oloron, which joins the Gave de Pau at Peyrehorade which flows a further 10 km as the Gaves Réunis before joining the Adour river. A number of small streams flow in the commune including Le Crabé which flows into the Gave d'Oloron at the northern border of the commune and the Arrioutèque creek.

Localities and hamlets

*Aunès *Benes *Le Bois *Bonnefont *la Bordenave *Constantine *Coustalat *Couyoula *Dupont *Etchebarne *Labie *Lafite *Lartigue *Latéoulère *le Lot *Peyre *Plain *Pouey *Reyen *Richard *Ségabache *Treyture *La Tuilerie Abitain on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website

Neighbouring Communes and Villages

Toponymy

The commune's name in Béarnais is ''Avitenh''. Michel Grosclaude proposed a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

etymology of ''Avitus'' (name of a man called "Avit") plus the Gascon suffix ''-enh''. 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 – Abitain
/ref> Origins: *Bayonne:

Cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

or ''Livre d'Or'' (Book of Gold)Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Notaries: Notaries of Labastide-VillefrancheNotaries of Labastide-Villefranche in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of OloronManuscripts from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Regulations: Regulations of the States of BéarnManuscript Collection of 140 volumes of deliberations (1606 to 1789) in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Denombrement: DenombremontManuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Terrier: Terrier of Abitain.Manuscript from the 18th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Chapter: Titles of the Chapter of

Chapter of Bayonne in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

The village of Abitain formed on the left bank of the Gave d'Oloron around its Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Bearn, a building which still remains. The families of Belloc then Claverie were the abbot patrons of the parish. The tomb of the last lay abbot of Abitain, who died in 1785, is in the church of Saint-Pierre. Paul Raymond, on page 2 of his 1863 dictionary, noted that in 1385 the town had 15 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Sauveterre. In 1648 the barony of Lons became a marquisate, which included Abitain, Anoye, Baleix, Castillon, Juillacq, Le Leu (hamlet Oraàs),

Samsons-Lion Samsons-Lion 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 department o ...

, Lons, Maspie, Oraàs, Peyrède (fief Oraàs),

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

, and Viellepinte.''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
p. 103 The village had two mills: one at Leü (which actually depended on Oraàs) and one at Séguabache - now a sawmill. In 1856, Ferdinand Carrère, heir to the last Lay Abbey demolished the old abbey castle to build Carrère castle in Escos. In February 1814, the town was occupied by the troops of General Morillo and by the English, facing the French entrenched in Oraàs. A famous ferry - where there was a tragic accident in 1845 - has long been in service between Moliède and Athos.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Abitain

Intercommunality

The town is a member of seven inter-communal organisations: *the Communauté de communes du Béarn des Gaves *the Public agency for local management *the inter-communal centre for social action of Sauveterre-de-Béarn; *the intercommunal union of communal associations of Gave d'Oloron and Mauléon-Licharre *the inter-communal union for Rivers and Lakes *the AEP Union of Sauveterre-de-Béarn *the Energy Union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Population

Economy

The activity of the commune is mainly agricultural. A sawmill is also in operation. The town 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 bo ...

(AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.

Culture and Heritage

Civil heritage

There are only the ruins of the Leu mill which have been the subject of numerous lawsuits. Another mill, called Séguabache, is the current sawmill and is easily visible in the commune.

Religious Heritage

During the construction of the clock tower in 1926 what remained of the old lay abbey was destroyed. In the old abbey there was a special room where the Lord of the Manor could overlook the church choir and follow the Mass without being in the crowd. The abbey enclosure can still be seen. The Tombstone of the last lord of Abitain was discovered during the restoration of the church. It was marked on the wall of the church to preserve its memory. The Parish Church of Saint Pierre (19th century),Ministry of Culture, Mérimée of Romanesque origin, still has the arms of the Abitain abbots (Blason: Azure, with two stars Or in chief) from the burial of the last abbot. There is a 16th-century window of Germanic origin. Also in the church (in the attic) is an altarpiece from the 17th century. The Cemetery contains the graves of priests and that of Father Joffre, Capuchin missionary in Canada who died at Abitain in 1909. There is also the tomb of Colonel Count Pierre de Chevigne, Companion of the Liberation, one of the greats of béarnaise politics and a strong and faithful supporter of

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

. The coat of arms of Chevigne are engraved on his tomb with the motto "Quod decet". He donated land and equipment to the communes of Abitain and Escos.

Notable People linked to the Commune

Pierre de Chevigné Pierre Gabriel Adhéaume de Chevigné (16 June 1909 – 4 April 2004) was a French politician, who was the Minister of Defence in the Fourth Republic between 14 May and 1 June 1958. Early life Chevigné was born on 16 June 1909 in Toulon. He wa ...

, born in Toulon in 1909 and died in Biarritz in 2004 was a colonel and French politician, a Minister in the Fourth Republic and a

companion of the Liberation A Companion of Liberation () is a member of the Order of Liberation, Order of the Liberation, created on November 16, 1940 by Charles de Gaulle, General de Gaulle as "leader of the Free France, Free French" to "reward the people or military and ci ...

. He was mayor of Abitain from 1935 to 1940 and from 1945 to 1965.