Argagnon (French pronunciation: [aʁɡaɲɔ̃]; Occitan: Arganhon) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Argagnon
Entry to Argagnon
Entry to Argagnon
Location of Argagnon
Map
Argagnon is located in France
Argagnon
Argagnon
Argagnon is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Argagnon
Argagnon
Coordinates: 43°27′27″N 0°40′52″W / 43.4575°N 0.6811°W / 43.4575; -0.6811
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementPau
CantonArtix et Pays de Soubestre
IntercommunalityLacq-Orthez
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Gilles Leveque[1]
Area
1
9.33 km2 (3.60 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
700
 • Density75/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64042 /64300
Elevation66–209 m (217–686 ft)
(avg. 106 m or 348 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

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The Gave de Pau at Aragnon

Argagnon is located some 7 km south-east of Orthez 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 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 Orthez to the north-west and Lacq to the south-east. The commune consists mostly of farmland however there are forests in the east and north of the commune.[3]

The commune lies in the Drainage basin of the Adour and the Gave de Pau flows through the south-western edge of the commune with the Ruisseau de Clamonde flowing into it from the commune.[3] Paul Raymond mentioned in 1863[4] that the Juren, a stream with its source in Arthez-de-Béarn, crossed Aragnon and flowed into the Gave de Pau

Places and Hamlets

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  • 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[4]
  • Marchand
  • Marquittou
  • Maysonnave
  • Mirabel
  • Momas
  • Mouillade
  • Moullié
  • Nicot
  • Pédauque
  • Pehau
  • Pierre Grand
  • Poumé
  • Pradot
  • Puyôo
  • Roc
  • Sabaté
  • Sarraillot
  • Sauvajunte
  • Tisné

[5]

Neighbouring communes and villages

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[3]

Toponymy

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Its name in Béarnais is Arganhon. Brigitte Jobbé-Duval[6] 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.

Name Spelling Date Source Page Origin Description
Argagnon Arganion 977 Raymond
10
Bigorre Village
Argalhoo 1376 Raymond
10
Military
Arguanhoo 1385 Raymond
10
Census
Arganhoo 1546 Raymond
10
Reformation
Argagnon 1750 Cassini
Argagnon-Marcerin 1851 Raymond
10
Castéra Casterar 1538 Raymond
44
Reformation Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn
Les Castets Les Castets 1779 Raymond
46
Marcerin Place
Marcerin Marsserü 1345 Raymond
108
Pardies Village
Marsserü 1385 Raymond
108
Census
Marsery 1779 Raymond
108
Marcerin
Marcery 1793 Ldh/EHESS/Cassini

Sources:

Origins:

  • Bigorre: Cartulary of Bigorre[7]
  • Military: Military Inspection of Béarn[8]
  • Census: Census of Béarn[9]
  • Reformation: Reformation of Béarn[10]
  • Marcerin: The Terrier of Marcerin.[11]
  • Pardies: Notaries of Pardies[12]

History

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In 1385 Argagnon and Marcerin depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Argagnon at that time had 9 fires and Marcerin had 12.[4]

The Lords of Argagnon were the Castera family[13][14]

Argagnon until 1846 was part of the Canton of Lagor.[4] 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.

Administration

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List of Successive Mayors[15]

From To Name
1995 Georges Vandesande
1995 2001 Guillaume Defarge
2001 2020 André Cassou
2020 2026 Gilles Leveque

Georges Vandesande sponsored the candidacy of Jacques Cheminade in the presidential election of 1995.

Inter-communality

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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

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The inhabitants of the commune are known as Argagnonais or Argagnonaises in French.[16]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 212—    
1800 193−1.33%
1806 205+1.01%
1821 227+0.68%
1831 222−0.22%
1836 238+1.40%
1841 359+8.57%
1846 366+0.39%
1851 348−1.00%
1856 515+8.15%
1861 491−0.95%
1866 486−0.20%
1872 457−1.02%
1876 464+0.38%
1881 502+1.59%
1886 460−1.73%
1891 442−0.80%
1896 415−1.25%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 415+0.00%
1906 436+0.99%
1911 411−1.17%
1921 393−0.45%
1926 408+0.75%
1931 366−2.15%
1936 330−2.05%
1946 309−0.66%
1954 323+0.56%
1962 374+1.85%
1968 468+3.81%
1975 505+1.09%
1982 501−0.11%
1990 695+4.18%
1999 711+0.25%
2007 719+0.14%
2012 729+0.28%
2017 702−0.75%
Source: EHESS[17] and INSEE[18]

Economy

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The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.

Culture and Heritage

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The Church of Saint-Pierre

Nickname and saying

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According to Hubert Dutech,[19] 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

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Several Prehistoric camps have been found in the commune, reflecting its ancient past. The most important of them is the Turoû de Dous Garos[19] at 90 metres altitude. Ditches surround it and there are three earthen ramparts. Remains from the Iron Age have been discovered. The park of the current chateau is located in the former castéra.

Religious heritage

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The Church of Saint-Pierre (11th century)  is registered as an historical monument.[20] It was built in 1866 on remains from the 11th century.

Facilities

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Argagnon has a primary school.

Notable people linked to the commune

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  • Raymond Larrabure, born in 1797 in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and died in 1875 in Argagnon, was a French politician.
  • Henry de Pène, born in 1830 in Paris 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 as Apostolic Administrator during the period of transition from one bishop to another.

See also

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References

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  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. ^ 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 (in French)
  5. ^ Géoportail, IGN (in French)
  6. ^ Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, ISBN 978-2-35077-151-9 (in French)
  7. ^ Cartulary of Bigorre, a Manuscript from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  8. ^ Manuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  9. ^ Manuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  10. ^ Manuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  11. ^ Manuscript from the 18th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  12. ^ Notaries of Pardies in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  13. ^ Review of Pau and Béarn, Nos. 10-11, Société des sciences, lettres et arts de Pau (in French)
  14. ^ French Armorial: Cabaumont-Cordes, J. H. Willems, H. Lamant, Jean-Yves Conan (in French)
  15. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  16. ^ Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr
  17. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Argagnon, EHESS (in French).
  18. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  19. ^ a b Lo Noste Béarn, Hubert Dutech, ISBN 978-2914709187, Monhélios, 2003 (Basque)
  20. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000509 Church of Saint-Pierre (in French)
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