Goust is a French

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 of 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 ...

. At some point in the 19th century, folklore began to describe it as an independent Republic. Noted for its

centenarians A centenarian is a Human, person who has Ageing, reached the age of 100. Because life expectancy, life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there w ...

, one pensioner was reported to have reached the age of 123, although this is unconfirmed.

Geography

Goust is located on the territory of the commune of

Laruns Laruns (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is situated at the confluence of two mountain streams, the Gave d'Ossau and its tributary, the Valentin. Formerly part of the province of Béar ...

. It occupies one square mile on a plateau at the southern (upper) end of the valley of the

Gave d'Ossau The Gave d'Ossau () is the torrential river flowing through the Ossau Valley, one of the three main valleys of the High- Béarn ( Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France. It is formed in Gabas from the confluence of two gaves comin ...

in the Western

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. ...

, across the river from Eaux-Chaudes. At an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of 995 m/3264 ft, it is accessible only by a narrow mountain footpath across the Pont d'Enfer ("Bridge of Hell"). The nearest town is Laruns in the valley below. The community is made up of 10-12 households, with a population fluctuating between 50 and 150 residents. The traditional economy was based on animal husbandry, wool, and silk production, augmented more recently by tourism. All baptisms, weddings, and burials are performed at the Catholic Church in Laruns. Due to its isolated situation, the inhabitants of Goust evolved a curious funeral custom: the deceased was placed in a coffin and sent down the mountainside via a specially-constructed

chute Chute or Chutes, may refer to: * Chute (gravity), a channel down which falling materials are guided * Chute (landform), a steep-sided passage through which water flows rapidly * Escape chute, an emergency exit utilized where conventional fire esca ...

, to be collected at the bottom for burial in the Laruns cemetery.

History

Jean-François Samazeuilh (1858) attributes the claims of Goust's independence to an 1827 description by the former French Minister of the Interior

Joseph Lainé Joseph Henri Joachim, vicomte Lainé (11 November 1768 – 17 December 1835), was a French lawyer and politician. Born in Bordeaux, he became a successful lawyer in Paris. In 1793 he was named administrator of the district of La Réole, returnin ...

. Samazeuilh says that Lainé was speaking metaphorically when he labeled Goust a "republic," and that other writers took this literally ("on a pris au sérieux cette fantaisie du spirituel écrivain"). He then provides a long quotation from the ''Album Pyrénéen'' which demonstrates the fallacy of this interpretation—for example, the residents of Goust pay taxes to the government in Laruns. In the late 19th century however, newspapers from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

mention Goust and goings on in the “Republic.” One of them is the story that in 1896 the authorities proclaimed a ban on publication of any newspaper without executive authorization, which led to an uprising of the citizens.

References

External links

Scenic photos of Goust and the Ossau Valley
{{Authority control Villages in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Geography of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Geography

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links