Abidos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Abidos (French pronunciation: [abidɔs]; Occitan: Avidòs) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.

Abidos
A street in Abidos
A street in Abidos
Coat of arms of Abidos
Location of Abidos
Map
Abidos is located in France
Abidos
Abidos
Abidos is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Abidos
Abidos
Coordinates: 43°23′59″N 0°37′23″W / 43.3997°N 0.6231°W / 43.3997; -0.6231
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementPau
CantonLe Cœur de Béarn
IntercommunalityLacq-Orthez
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Claude Mirassou[1]
Area
1
3.06 km2 (1.18 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
209
 • Density68/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64003 /64150
Elevation86–170 m (282–558 ft)
(avg. 95 m or 312 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

edit

Abidos is a Béarnais commune located some 13 km south-east of Orthez and 4 km north of Mourenx on the south side of the Gave de Pau. Access to the commune is by the D31 road from Le Bourguet in the north turning west in the commune to access the village and continuing southwest to join the D9. The D33 road from Noguères in the southeast passes through the commune east of the village and joins the D31 as it turns west. The commune has an industrial area in the southwest with the rest of the commune mainly farmland.[3]

The Gave de Pau forms the north-eastern border of the commune and also passes through the northern corner of the commune as it flows north-west to join the Gave d'Oloron at Peyrehorade. The Baïse river flows through the centre of the commune from the southeast and joins the Gave de Pau in the commune. The Luzoué also flows from the southeast through the west of the commune to join the Gave de Pau.[3]

Places and hamlets

edit
  • Bastia
  • Bernacheyre
  • Chalosse
  • Joanlong
  • Pleasure
  • Us

[4]

Neighbouring communes and villages

edit

[3]

Toponymy

edit

The name Abidos appears in the forms:

Michel Grosclaude offers a Latin etymology of Avitus plus the Aquitaine suffix -ossum "domain of Avitus".

Its name in Béarnais is Avidos (according to the classical norm).

History

edit

Paul Raymond[5] notes that in 1385, Abidos had 18 fires and depended on the bailiwicks of Lagor and Pardies. Abidos had a castle with an attached door across the Pau river.

Heraldry

edit
 
Arms of Abidos
Blazon:

Azure, the crested osprey in argent beaked and membered in gules, perched on a bone of death also argent posed in fess.



Administration

edit
 
Abidos Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors of Abidos

From To Name Party
1968 2008 Léon Guilhamélou-Sempé UMP
2008 2026 Jean-Claude Mirassou

Inter-communality

edit

Abidos is a member of seven inter-communal organisations:[13]

  • the community of communes of Lacq-Orthez
  • SIVU for the development and management of the river basin of Baïses
  • AEP union for water and Baise;
  • sanitation union of the communes of the Juscle and Baise valleys
  • Energy Union of Pyrenees-Atlantiques
  • Intercommunal Union for defence against floods of the Gave de Pau
  • Intercommunal Union for educational regrouping in the communes of Os-Marsillon and Abidos.

Population

edit
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 225—    
1800 230+0.31%
1806 203−2.06%
1821 241+1.15%
1831 238−0.13%
1836 229−0.77%
1841 207−2.00%
1846 222+1.41%
1851 222+0.00%
1856 237+1.32%
1861 216−1.84%
1866 227+1.00%
1872 208−1.45%
1876 229+2.43%
1881 204−2.29%
1886 212+0.77%
1891 182−3.01%
1896 186+0.44%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 184−0.22%
1906 190+0.64%
1911 183−0.75%
1921 170−0.73%
1926 162−0.96%
1931 149−1.66%
1936 149+0.00%
1946 109−3.08%
1954 147+3.81%
1962 255+7.13%
1968 226−1.99%
1975 184−2.89%
1982 187+0.23%
1990 188+0.07%
1999 200+0.69%
2009 233+1.54%
2014 232−0.09%
2020 212−1.49%
Source: EHESS[14] and INSEE[15]

Economy

edit

The town is part of the zone designation of Ossau-Iraty cheese.

Culture and heritage

edit
 
Abidos Church
 
Front of the Church

Religious Heritage

edit

There is an old chapel at Abidos castle.

Environmental heritage

edit

An arboretum created by the community of communes of Lacq and the Abengoa BioEnergy France company, is located behind the village hall.

Also found in Abydos, a mill with its canal. The path of Naöu means an unencumbered way along the Pau river (phonetic transcription of nau is bateau in Béarnais).

Facilities

edit

Education

edit

The commune has a school with two classrooms for primary school, a school canteen, and a library.

Sports and sports equipment

edit

The town has a sports field in the centre with a football field, basketball court, volleyball court, and tennis courts. There is also a sports hall equipped for basketball, tennis and Basque pelota. Lastly there is a roller skate park for BMX edge of the Baise.

Notable People linked to the commune

edit
  • Raoul Vergez was born in Abidos on 3 August 1908 and died in Senlis (Oise) on 7 July 1977. He was a "companion carpenter", writer and journalist. Known by the name of "Béarnais, the friend of the Tour de France", he left an important mark on the work of the Companions in France. He reported from the United States during a trip in 1952, some special techniques for companion carpenters.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Google Maps
  4. ^ Géoportail, IGN, (in French)
  5. ^ a b c d e Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011, p. 2 (in French)
  6. ^ Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn (in French)
  7. ^ a b c d Michel Grosclaude, Topnymical Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Ed. Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, ISBN 2-35068-005-3, p. 120-121
  8. ^ a b c Cartulary of the Abbey of Lucq, Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn (in French)
  9. ^ Manuscript of the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  10. ^ Notaries of Pardies - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  11. ^ Manuscript of the 16th to the 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  12. ^ Cassini Map 1750 - Abidos
  13. ^ Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Cellule informatique préfecture 64 Archived May 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, consulted on 9 November 2011
  14. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Abidos, EHESS (in French).
  15. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
edit