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 ...
in the west passing through the west fork of the commune then Etcharry then the east fork and the village before continuing south-east to Charritte-de-Bas. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.Google Maps /ref>
Located 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 ' ...
, the commune is traversed from south to north by the ''Lafoure'' (a tributary of the
Saison
Saison ( French, "season," ) is a pale-colored ale that is highly carbonated, dry, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. It was historically brewed with low alcohol levels, but modern productions of the style have moderate to high leve ...
) with its tributary the ''Hourquet'' and the ''Lauhirasse'' with its tributary the ''Thiancoenia erreka''.
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 ...
Toponymy
The commune name in
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 ...
is ''Arüe-Ithorrotze-Olhaibi''.
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicated that ''Ithorots'' possibly signified "source of cold water" and ''Olhaïby'' "the ford of the huts".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Sources:
* Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, '' New Basque Toponymy'' ref name="Orpustan">Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy'' Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, on the page numbers indicated in the table.
*
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 ᚱᚨᚷá ...
from 1750Cassini Map 1750 – Ithorrots /ref>
* EHESS (1):
* EHESS (2):
Origins:
* Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume CXIVDuchesne Collection, volumes 99 to 114, containing the papers of Oihenart, former Imperial Librarian -
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 ...
Paul Raymond noted on page 11 of his 1863 dictionary that Aroue was one of the seven districts of Soule and depended on the ''messagerie'' of Barhoue. There was a
Lay Abbey
A Lay Abbey (Fr: Abbaye laïque) was a basic component of the Middle Ages in the western foothills of the northern Pyrenees. The adjective lay indicated that the property did not belong to a religious order. It is possible to identify a hundred la ...
Jacobin
The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
anti-religion policy.
Between 1790 and 1794 Ithorots commune was merged with Olhaïby to form the new commune of Ithorots-Olhaïby. On 1 August 1973 (by prefectural order of 20 July 1973), the commune of Aroue merged with Ithorots-Olhaïby to form the new commune of Aroue-Ithorots-Olhaïby.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arouetarrak''. The population data given in the table and graph below for 1968 and earlier refer to the former commune of Aroue.
The village has architecture typical of the eastern Basque Country: gable roofs covered with tiles, whitewashed walls with houses from the 16th century.
As in many Basque villages, the fronton is adjacent to the church.
Religious heritage
Two churches are registered as historical monuments:
* The Church of Saint-Étienne at Aroue (12th century) is a Romanesque church rebuilt in the 19th century. There is a sculpture from the 12th century of Saint Jacques on a horse and a Spanish image of "Matamoro".
* The Church of Saint-Samson at Ithorots (19th century)
* The Church at Olhaïby has several items that are registered as historical objects:
** A
Retable
A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...
over the main altar (18th century)
** A Candlestick (17th century)
** An altar cross (18th century)
** A
tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
at the main altar (18th century)
** A candlestick (18th century)
** Statuettes (18th century)
** A Painting: The Martyrdom of Saints Cyr and Judith (18th century)
** A Tabernacle, Retable, 2 Candlesticks, Statues, Altar Cross, and Painting (18th century)
** A Processional Cross (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy
. It is at the beginning of the 7th section of the GR which is listed by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
as
World Heritage
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. The presentation file to UNESCO locates the commune on the
Via Podiensis
The Via Podiensis or the Le Puy Route is one of the four routes through France on the pilgrimage to the tomb of James, son of Zebedee, St. James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain), Galicia in northwest Spain. It leaves from Le-P ...
on the
Way of St. James
The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where trad ...
. There is no real historical justification for this but it is an important fact for this small town. Justification was found by Dr. Urrutibetehy, the pioneer who traced the paths in the region (it was he who set up the so-called ''Stele of Gibraltar'' and made a point of convergence of these paths). He saw in the horseman shown on the lintel of the door of the sacristy, a representation of Saint Jacques Matamoros.