Arancou (; ;ERANGO

Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia Pic d'Anie (Basque Auñamendi) is a mountain of the Pyrenees in France, located close to the Spanish border. It is high. The mountain boasts an almost perfect pyramidal shape and is surrounded by the spectacular karst landscape of. ''Larra'', ...

) is a commune in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

department 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 ...

.Commune d'Arancou
INSEE It is located in the former province of

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...

Geography

Hydrography

The Lauhirasse, a tributary of the

Bidouze The Bidouze (; ) is a left tributary of the Adour, in the French Basque Country (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France. It is long. Geography The Bidouze rises at the base of ''Eltzarreko Ordokia'' in the Arbailles massif. It dr ...

, and the Baniou, 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 ...

cross this commune.

Hamlets

* Garai * Le Burrou * Xabai

Bordering communes

Came A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel. There are two kinds of came: the H-shaped sections that hold two pieces together and the U-shaped sections that are used for the borders. Cames are mostl ...

to the Northwest * Labastide-Villefranche to the East * Bergouey-Viellenave to the Southwest

Toponymy

The Gascon name for "Arancou" is ''Arancon''; the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

name is ''Erango''. The name ''Arancou'' appears in the forms ''Arranque'' (1119–1136), Paul Raymond, ''Dictionnaire topographique Béarn-Pays basque'' ''Arancoen'' (13th century), ''Arancoey'', ''Arancoenh'' (around 1360), ''Arrancoeynh'', ''Arancoinh'' (1372), ''Aranquoen'' (1403, titles of

Titles of the commune of

- Departmental archives of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques), and ''Aranco'' (1584, alienation of the

Diocese of Dax The Diocese of Dax, Landes, Dax or Acqs was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Gascony in south-west France. According to tradition it was established in the 5th century. It was suppressed after the French Revolution, by the Concordat ...

Registres d'aliénations - ancienne bibliothèque impériale -

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

). The name of Arancou comes from the Basque ''arangoien'', for "higher valley".

History

Prehistory

Tools from 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 ...

era, one of the later cultures of 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 ...

era of Western Europe, were found in the Bourrouillan cave in the territory of Arancou. Several thousand bones from hunted animals were found in the cave, as well as thousands of flint and bone tools.

Modern history

On January 1, 1973, the communes of Arancou, Bergouey, and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze were joined. On 15 November 1977, Arancou regained its independent status, while Bergouey and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze remained together as Bergouey-Viellenave.

Arancou and Basque country

Jean-Baptiste Orpustan mentions Arancou in 1309 in a list of parishes paying dues to the royal power in

Navarrenx Navarrenx (; ; , ) is a town and commune in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The demonym is Navarre. Since 2014, the town has been in the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. It is ...

. Arancou was also mentioned by Eugène Goyheneche towards the end of the Middle Ages. He wrote that "because of the Gramont's power, he situation of the neighboring parishes, including Arancouis ambiguous." However, starting with the modern age, no evidence of Arancou's allegiance to the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

can be found. Nor is there evidence of any links to the dukedom of Gramont or of the sovereign principality of Bidache. The chapter of the collegiate Saint-Jacques de Bidache was the lord of the lands; the parish was situated in France in the administrative district of Lannes, where it came under the control of the administrative region of Hastingues. Although Arancou falls without a doubt within modern districting, it is nonetheless included in a list of the communes of

Basse-Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...

. While presenting the town in 2009 on his website, the mayor, Alexandre Bordes, did not take sides. Rather, he emphasized the "mix of deep-rooted cultures" and the "location of the town at the borders of Gascogne, Béarn, Basque Country, and the Navarre." His website describes the town as "basquo-béarnais."

Administration

List of Mayors

Intercommunality

Arancou belongs to four different intercommunal territories: * The Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque * The Adour Syndicate * Syndicate AEP of Arancou - Bergouey-Viellenave - Bidache - Labastide-Villefranche * Syndicate for the department of electricity

Population

Economy

Arancou's economy is primarily agricultural. Arancou is part of the

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

(a French regional certification) of the cheese,

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 ...

. There is a limestone quarry in Arancou. Until 1993, it provided the stone for the cemetery, Ciments de l'Adour, in

Boucau Boucau (; ;BOKALE
Via Turonensis). A wellspring runs underneath the church, feeding a washing-place in the basement. An 18th century Madonna statue called Notre-Dame-d'Arancou can be found in the church, as well as an hilarri (a disk-shaped funeral

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 ...

) from Labets-Biscay, and different furnishings registered in the inventory of the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

(a tabernacle, font, and cross). The church also has a registered stained glass window.

References

{{authority control Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Lower Navarre