Ascarat
Native nameAzkarate
Commune statusCommune
ArrondissementBayonne
CantonMontagne Basque
Insee64066
Postal code64220
MayorPhilippe Etchenique[1]
Term2020–2026
IntercommunalityCA Pays Basque
Coordinates43.1714°N 1.2539°W
Elevation m161
Elevation min m120
Elevation max m446
Area km 25.82

Ascarat (askaʁat; Occitan: Escarpat; Basque: Azkarate)[2] is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

The inhabitants are known as Azkaratear.[3][4]

Geography

Ascarat is located in the former province of Lower Navarre in the Aldudes Valley immediately north-west of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Access to the commune is by the D918 road from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port which passes through the length of the commune on the eastern side and continues to Louhossoa. The D15 road goes north-west from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port through the southern part of the commune continuing to Irouléguy. Access to the village is by country roads - Garategana from the D15 and Learraa from the D918. There are substantial forests in the commune however about 70% of the land area is farmland.[5]

The Nive river forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows north to join the Adour at Bayonne. Three streams flow into the Nive in the commune: the Nive d'Arnéguy, the Nive de Béhérobie, the Berroko erreka, and the Pagolako erreka.[5]

Places and hamlets

  • Apelchénéa
  • Arbelarréa
  • Arrécharborda
  • Béhérekoetchéa
  • Bentaberria
  • Beskinaénéa
  • Bidartéa
  • Bordia
  • Burugorriénéa
  • Caracotchéa
  • Choko Ona
  • Errékaldéa
  • Fargas (château)
  • Ferrandoénéa
  • Garatégaïna
  • Haranbiako Borda
  • Harguinaénéa
  • Harguinchuria
  • Hirureta
  • Indartéa
  • Iputchaénéa
  • Ithurraldéa
  • Ithurricheta
  • Jauberria
  • Pontoussénéa
  • Puchulua
  • La Solitude
  • Tofinaenea
  • Uhaldéa

[6]

Toponymy

The name Ascarat appears in the forms:

Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicated that the name is composed of aitz ("rock") and garate ("high place"), giving "a height of rocks".[7]

Chubitoa was a hamlet in Ascarat and Anhaux, mentioned in 1863[12]

Jauréguy was a fief, vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre, cited in the 1863 dictionary[13] as was Larragoyen.[14]

The commune name in basque is Azkarate.[2][4]

History

The parish was mentioned in 1256 and was "ravaged by soldiers" in 1396.[15]

In 1391 Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry included the modern communes of Anhaux, Ascarat, Irouléguy, and Lasse.[16]

Administration

List of Successive Mayors[17]

FromToNamePartyPosition
19952020Jean-Michel GalantABGeneral Councillor
20202026Philippe Etchenique

Inter-communality

The commune is part of nine inter-communal structures:[18]

  • the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque;
  • the SIVOS of Garazi;
  • the SIVU Hiruen Artean;
  • the AEP association of Anhice;
  • the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
  • the inter-communal association for sanitation of Ur Garbi;
  • the inter-communal association for the management and development of the abattoir at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port;
  • the joint association for the Drainage basin of the Nive;
  • the association to support Basque culture.

Demography

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793334—
1821369+10.5%
1846445+20.6%
1872360−19.1%
1901338−6.1%
1926323−4.4%
1946348+7.7%
1962274−21.3%
1968283+3.3%
1975282−0.4%
1982294+4.3%
1990294+0.0%
1999275−6.5%
2007284+3.3%
2012313+10.2%
2017321+2.6%
2023348+8.4%

EHESS[19] and INSEE[20]

Economy

The commune is part of the production zone of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) of Irouléguy and also of the AOC zone of Ossau-iraty.

Economic activity is mainly agricultural.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

There are several houses and farms in the commune which are registered as historical monuments. These are:

  • Uhaldea House (18th century)[21]
  • Harizpea Farm (1587)[22]
  • Chateau de Vergues (or Chateau de Fargas) (18th century)[23]
  • Houses and Farms (17th-19th centuries)[24]

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Julien-d'Antioche is of medieval origin was heavily rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century.[25]

Notable people linked to the commune

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ AZKARATE, Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, ISBN 978-2-35077-151-9 (in French)
  4. ^ Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque language (Basque)
  5. ^ Google Maps
  6. ^ Géoportail, IGN (in French)
  7. ^ Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, ISBN 2 86781 396 4 (in French)
  8. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011, p. 15 (in French)
  9. ^ Titles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda (in French)
  10. ^ Derecho de naturaleza que la merindad de San-Juan-del-pie-del-puerto, una de las seys de Navarra, tiene en Castilla - 1622 petit in-4° (in Spanish)
  11. ^ Manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  12. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 50 (in French)
  13. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 85 (in French)
  14. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 94 (in French)
  15. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  16. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  17. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  18. ^ Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Archived 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 2 March 2012 (in French)
  19. ^
  20. ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  21. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  22. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  23. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  24. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)
  25. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée (in French)