Argagnon (; ) 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 the

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 ...

region of south-western

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 ...

Geography

Argagnon is located some 7 km south-east of

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

and 2 km north-west of Maslacq. Access to the commune is by the D817 road from Orthez which passes through the village and continues south-east to Artix. The D275 from Maslacq to

Arthez-de-Béarn Arthez-de-Béarn (, literally ''Arthez of Béarn''; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It took its name from the county of Artois (''Artés'' in Occitan, adapted in French as ''Arthès'' or ''Arthez' ...

passes through the eastern part of the commune. The Toulouse-Bayonne railway passes through the south of the commune parallel to the D817 but there is no station in the commune. The nearest stations are at

to the north-west and

Lacq Lacq (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2024, the former commune of Urdès was merged into Lacq. It lies just northwest of the prefecture (department capital) Pau. Economy In mo ...

to the south-east. The commune consists mostly of farmland however there are forests in the east and north of the commune.Google Maps
/ref> The commune lies in the

Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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 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 ' ...

and 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 ...

flows through the south-western edge of the commune with the ''Ruisseau de Clamonde'' flowing into it from the commune. Paul Raymond mentioned in 1863 that the Juren, a stream with its source in Arthez-de-Béarn, crossed Aragnon and flowed into the Gave de Pau

Places and Hamlets

* Arramoun * Arrigran * Arriscle * Arvélé * Audios * Baraten * Bataille * Bernès * Bouhaben * Cazenave * Cazot * Château Champetier * Chou * Claverie * Clerc * Soum de Coste * Daubagna * Guillemet * Houndière * Jouanbayle * Lacamuse * Lachourute * Lahoueillâde * Larréc * Larrus * Lassègue * Lasserre * Lescloupé * Lirou * Louncouat * Lourtas * Lourteigt * Marcerin * Marchand * Marquittou * Maysonnave * Mirabel * Momas * Mouillade * Moullié * Nicot * Pédauque * Pehau * Pierre Grand * Poumé * Pradot * Puyôo * Roc * Sabaté * Sarraillot * Sauvajunte * Tisné Géoportail

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Its name in Béarnais is ''Arganhon''.

Brigitte Jobbé-Duval Brigitte Jobbé-Duval is a French historian and linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics) ...

, ''Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', 2009, Archives and Culture, indicated that the name ''Argagnon'' originated from the first owner, ''Arcanius'', and was expanded with the suffix ''-onem'' giving the meaning "Domain of Arcanius". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. 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 ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

:''
''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 *Ldh/EHESS/Cassini: Origins: *Bigorre: Cartulary of BigorreCartulary of Bigorre, a Manuscript from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Military: Military Inspection of BéarnManuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Marcerin: The Terrier of Marcerin.Manuscript from the 18th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Pardies: Notaries of

Pardies Pardies (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Geography Neighbouring communes *North-East: Artix *North-West: Os-Marsillon *East: Bésingrand *West: Noguères *South-East: Parbayse *South ...

Notaries of

in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

In 1385 Argagnon and Marcerin depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Argagnon at that time had 9

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fuel ...

and Marcerin had 12. The Lords of Argagnon were the Castera family Argagnon until 1846 was part of the Canton of Lagor. The commune merged with Marcerin on 8 April 1851 to form the commune of Argagnon-Marcerin. During the German occupation from 1940-1944 it was one of the official check points for the

Demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahraw ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors Georges Vandesande sponsored the candidacy of

Jacques Cheminade Jacques Guy Cheminade (; born 20 August 1941) is a French politician, activist and former diplomat. He is the head of the Solidarity and Progress (SP) party, the French arm of the LaRouche movement. He has thrice run for President of France (199 ...

in the presidential election of 1995.

Inter-communality

Argagnon belongs to five inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez; * the AEP association of Gave and Baïse; * the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association of Arthez-de-Béarn; * the inter-communal association of defence against floods from the Gave de Pau.

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Argagnonais'' or ''Argagnonaises'' in French.

Economy

The town 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 ...

(AOC) zone designation of

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 ...

Culture and Heritage

Nickname and saying

According to Hubert Dutech, the inhabitants of Marcerin were called ''perautucs'', meaning "fools". He also cited the saying ''A Marcerin, n'i a glèisa ni mouli, mes que i a ua houratèra, oun lou diable apèra'', which means "In Marcerin there is neither church nor mill, but there is a small cave where the devil calls".

Civil heritage

Several Prehistoric camps have been found in the commune, reflecting its ancient past. The most important of them is the ''Turoû de Dous Garos''''Lo Noste Béarn'', Hubert Dutech, , Monhélios, 2003 (Basque) at 90 metres altitude. Ditches surround it and there are three earthen ramparts. Remains from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

have been discovered. The park of the current chateau is located in the former castéra.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Pierre (11th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée It was built in 1866 on remains from the 11th century.

Facilities

Argagnon has a primary school.

Notable people linked to the commune

*Raymond Larrabure, born in 1797 in

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John

t the T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

Foot of hePass"; ; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean f ...

and died in 1875 in Argagnon, was a French politician. *Henry de Pène, born in 1830 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and died in 1888 in the same city, was a French writer and journalist. Henry de Pène was also called Henry de Pène of Argagnon - after the castle owned by his father at Argagnon. *Robert Sarrabère, born in 1926 in Argagnon was a French Catholic bishop of Aire and Dax until his retirement in 2002. From 9 January to 2 September 2007, he served the

diocese of Montauban The Diocese of Montauban (Latin: ''Dioecesis Montis Albani''; French language, French: ''Diocèse de Montauban'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese is coextensive with Tarn-et-Garonne, and is currently a suffr ...

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

during the period of transition from one bishop to another.

References

External links

Page on Argagnon on the Community of communes of Arthez-de-Béarn website

Argagnon on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Argagnon'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques