Aubertin (French pronunciation: [obɛʁtɛ̃]) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Aubertin
Approach to the Town Hall
Approach to the Town Hall
Location of Aubertin
Map
Aubertin is located in France
Aubertin
Aubertin
Aubertin is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Aubertin
Aubertin
Coordinates: 43°16′29″N 0°28′57″W / 43.2747°N 0.4825°W / 43.2747; -0.4825
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementPau
CantonBillère et Coteaux de Jurançon
IntercommunalityCA Pau Béarn Pyrénées
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Martine Rodriguez[1]
Area
1
17.16 km2 (6.63 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
652
 • Density38/km2 (98/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64072 /64290
Elevation150–347 m (492–1,138 ft)
(avg. 281 m or 922 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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Aubertin is located in Béarn some 10 km west of Pau and 8 km north-west of Gan. Access to the commune is by the D146 from Artiguelouve in the north-east which passes through the north of the commune and goes west to Lacommande. Access to the village is by the D346 which branches south from the D146 in the commune and continues through the village to join the D24 some 6 km west of Gan. The commune has a mix of forest and farmland throughout its territory.[3]

The Baïse forms the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Gave de Pau at Abidos. The Juscle rises in the south-east of the commune and flows north to join the Gave de Pau at Bésingrand. Each river gathers many small tributaries that rise in the commune.[3]

Places and hamlets

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  • Arizet
  • Arrouset
  • Arrouzes
  • Baherle
  • Bahette
  • Barbe
  • Barrere
  • Barrot
  • Baudorre
  • Bayle
  • Bengueres
  • Benoit
  • Benterou
  • Bernat
  • Bertrand
  • Beteille
  • Blazy
  • Bonneton
  • Bordechy
  • Bory
  • Bouchet
  • Burret
  • Cabarrecq
  • Calotte
  • Camy
  • Casedeyan
  • Cassou
  • Catihaut
  • Caussit
  • Caussitou
  • Cazenave
  • Chicot
  • Chounet
  • Clamens
  • Claverie
  • Constantine
  • Couy
  • Crasman
  • Cuyala
  • David
  • Espa
  • Haget
  • Heroulet
  • Heugas
  • Hourat
  • Hourcade
  • Istehnou
  • Jagou[4]
  • Joliment
  • Labarthe
  • Labasse
  • Labat
  • Labegorre
  • Labesque
  • Labory
  • Lacarrieu
  • Lacoste
  • Lacrouts
  • Lagrave
  • Lahitole
  • Lamasouere
  • Lanardonne
  • Lapet
  • Laplume
  • Lardit
  • Larriscat
  • Larriu
  • Laymar
  • Lebe
  • Lembeye
  • Lespees
  • Lestanguet
  • Lous
  • Loustau
  • Mazou
  • Mene
  • Mesple
  • Mialou
  • Miramont
  • Mirassou
  • Modet
  • Montagnette
  • Montis
  • Mourterat
  • Mourthe
  • Navailles
  • Palassou
  • Palou
  • Pargade
  • Pedane
  • Penen
  • Pepicq
  • Perry
  • Peyrenere
  • Poeydevant
  • Porte
  • Poumade
  • Puyade
  • Reyau
  • Rontignon
  • Saliou
  • Sarthou
  • Serrot
  • Setze
  • Soldat
  • Talabot
  • Talet
  • Tiret
  • Toulas
  • Tucou
  • Turoun
  • Vignau

[5]

Neighbouring communes and villages

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[3]

Toponymy

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Among the hypotheses on the origin of the name Aubertin, Michel Grosclaude favours that of a Gascon man's name (diminutive of Aubert) or the Latin Albertinus rather than the German Adalbehrt.[6]

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Name Spelling Date Source Page Origin Description
Aubertin Albertinus 1128 Raymond
16
Marca Village
Auberti 13th century Raymond
16
Fors de Béarn
Aubertii 14th century Raymond
16
Census
Auberty 1548 Raymond
16
Reformation
Sent Blasi d'Aubertin 1608 Raymond
16
Insinuations
Jagou Jaguo 1385 Raymond
84
Census Farm
Jagou 1863 Raymond
84

Sources:

Origins:

History

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When the name Aubertin appears in texts from the beginning of the 12th century,[11] it is difficult to associate it with a specific territory. It is known that there was a beech grove at Aubertin (Faget d'Aubertii), in the middle of which Gaston IV of Béarn, called le Croisé (The Crusader), began building a hospital in the years 1115-1118.[12] This foundation was challenged by the Lord of Bedosse and his descendants who claimed ownership of the soil. The Albertine charter signed in 1128 resolved the dispute and allowed the development of the hospital which was opened shortly after a church, a cloister and a cemetery. Farmland extended from the left bank of the Baïse to the top of the hill to the west on the territory of the present village of Lacommande.[13]

At the beginning of the 13th century, this place became the Commandery of Aubertin - the main establishment of the Priory of Sainte-Christine-du-Somport on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees.[14] By contrast, the origin of the Bedosse family and the extension of their domains remains unknown. For centuries Monein continued to claim ownership of this enclave of the Commandery of Aubertin.[15]

Texts from the middle of the 12th century also report a lordship at Artiguelouve which extended from the Gave de Pau to the Baïse on the current communes of Artiguelouve and Aubertin. So, in 1160 Guillaume of Artiguelouve and one called Loup Bergunh sold the land and woods located on the right bank of the Bayse for grazing their herds to the priory of Sainte-Christine-du-Somport and the Aubertin hospital.[16]

Although the territory of the present village of Aubertin has long remained in the orbit of the lordship of Artiguelouve,[17] from the beginning most people seem to have attended the church of the Commandery. The count by Gaston Febus in 1385 reported a parish of Aubertii distinct from that of Artiguelobe.[18] It comprised a total of 46 fires including 3 which were explicitly at Aubertin the hospital.

In 1402, the lord of Artiguelouve made common cause with the commandery of Aubertin in a lawsuit between them and the community of Monein[19] but in 1538 the commander of Aubertin, Jean de Borau, reported that Arnaud Guilhem d'Artiguelouve had usurped the rights of the Commandery.[20] Relations between the two communities were close but fluctuated.

When Arnaud Guilhem d'Artiguelouve married Anne d'Albret on 9 February 1534[21] he was called Lord of Artiguelouve, Aubertin, and Montardon and appeared to be at the height of his glory. The situation gradually deteriorated over the generations.[22] In 1555 his son, Arnaud, sold half the tithes from Artiguelouve and Aubertin to Peyrot de Pedelaborde of Lagor.[23] He was soon no longer designated as Lord of Artiguelouve and Aubertin which suggested the final sale of the lordship of Montardon.[24] On the other hand, the inhabitants of Aubertin had some autonomy in the management of their affairs as they were represented by a trustee and 5 aldermen from 1570 during some events of the Protestant Reformation.[25] Around 1583 Arnaud d'Artiguelouve afiefed the woods of Aubertin as surety for a loan.[26] Bernard, who succeeded Arnaud, remained lord of Artiguelouve and Aubertin but debts accumulated. His son John was forced to sell the chateau and lands of Aubertin to François de Navailles on 30 June 1640.[27] Finally, Jean sold the lordship of Artiguelouve itself to Pierre de Fouron on 11 April 1642.[28]

30 June 1640 was a crucial date in the history of Aubertin. It affirmed the identity of the village and marked the emergence of a new centre of power from an Artiguelouve lordship which disintegrated to a commandery which, after the Reformation, passed to the control of the Barnabites of Lescar. Five generations of Navailles-Mirepeix would follow in Aubertin. The last, Louis-François, gave a reckoning of his domain of Aubertin for the Parliament of Navarre on 8 July 1776.[29] This document gives a fairly accurate picture of the lordship of Aubertin before the French Revolution.[30]

Some years before, in 1773, he initiated a project to build a church near the chateau with the support of the Bishop of Oloron. This project was not successful because Louis-François de Navailles emigrated to Spain during the Revolution. The Aubertin people felt duty-bound to continue and financed most of the Church of Saint-Blaise in Lacommande, the adjacent cemetery, and the church rectory, although two separate communes were created in 1790. They continued, however, to be only one parish until 1867 when the opening of a church in Aubertin and a new historical turning point: a village centre could finally develop around its bell tower, to which was added a cemetery, manse, town hall, and a school.[31]

Administration

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Panorama of Aubertin

List of Successive Mayors[32]

From To Name
1790 1805 Bascourret
1805 1807 Pouey-Davant
1807 1811 Jean Labory
1811 1815 Bascourret
1815 1816 Jean Louis Poey-Davant
1816 1831 Bayle
1831 1842 Jean Reyau
1842 1848 Augustin Casalet
1848 1853 Jean Hourcade
1853 1857 Augustin Casalet
1857 1865 Jean Marie Labory
1865 1871 Jean Vignau
1871 1876 Jean Larrague
1876 1892 Barthélémy Hourcade
1892 1896 Jean Sarragnacq
1896 1914 Joseph Loustalot
1914 1919 Ferdinand Bascourret
1919 1924 Joseph Loustalot
1924 1925 Jérôme Loune
1925 1944 Pierre Labayrade
1944 1945 Lucien Darribau
1945 1965 François Cassieula
1965 1976 René Camy
1976 2001 Lucien Hondet
2001 2008 Philippe Boillot
2014 2026 Martine Rodriguez

Inter-communality

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The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:[33]

  • the Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées;
  • the SIVOM of the Canton of Lasseube;
  • the joint association for the Gave de Pau;
  • the SIVU for the development and management of the rivers in the Baises basin;
  • the association for the development of the Drainage basin of the Juscle and its tributaries;

Demography

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The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubertinois or Aubertinoises in French.[34]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 1,150—    
1800 1,103−0.59%
1806 1,168+0.96%
1821 970−1.23%
1831 1,065+0.94%
1836 1,102+0.69%
1841 1,098−0.07%
1846 1,081−0.31%
1851 1,089+0.15%
1856 1,002−1.65%
1861 901−2.10%
1866 912+0.24%
1872 912+0.00%
1876 928+0.44%
1881 851−1.72%
1886 854+0.07%
1891 826−0.66%
1896 850+0.57%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 825−0.60%
1906 822−0.07%
1911 796−0.64%
1921 644−2.10%
1926 626−0.57%
1931 573−1.75%
1936 554−0.67%
1946 533−0.39%
1954 473−1.48%
1962 456−0.46%
1968 398−2.24%
1975 455+1.93%
1982 571+3.30%
1990 607+0.77%
1999 632+0.45%
2007 634+0.04%
2012 657+0.72%
2017 656−0.03%
Source: EHESS[35] and INSEE[36]
 
The Chateau and the countryside

Economy

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Culture and heritage

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Bridge at Goua de Labat
 
Château de Navailles

Civil heritage

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  • A very old Bridge over the Bayse at Goua-de-Labat
  • The Château de Navailles

Religious heritage

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The 'Church of Saint-Augustin (1859)  is registered as a historical monument.[37] A porch was added to the tower in the 20th century.

  • A Chapel was built just before the French Revolution in another place near the Château de Navailles, but it was destroyed before it was used.

Facilities

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  • There is a primary school built in 1880 with a canteen and a fronton in the courtyard.
  • There is a public sports facility with a bowling pitch, tennis courts, and a handball court.

Notable people linked to the commune

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  • Jean Reyau, Mayor of Aubertin from 1831 to 1842, was a bodyguard for Louis XVIII.
  • Albert Peyroutet, born in Aubertin in 1931 and died in 2009, was an Occitan writer and an associate professor of English and Occitan.
  • René Camy, teacher, mayor, and General Councillor of the Canton of Lasseube (1965-1976), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour with academic palms.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  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 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. ^ Michel Grosclaude, Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, ISBN 2 35068 005 3 (in French)
  7. ^ Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn
  8. ^ a b Manuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  9. ^ Manuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  10. ^ Manuscripts from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  11. ^ Jukka Kiviharju, Colecciόn diplomática del Hospital de Santa Cristina de Somport. I: Años 1078-1304, Academia Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki, 2004 (in Spanish)
  12. ^ Pierre Tucoo-Chala, When Islam was at the doors of the Pyrénées, Biarritz, J & D, 1994 (in French)
  13. ^ Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn, Pau, Princi Negue, 2000, Vol. I, fifth book, pp. 111-113 (in French)
  14. ^ Antonio Duràn Gudiol, El hospital de Somport entre Aragón y Bearn (siglos XII y XIII), colecciόn básica aragonesa, Saragosse, Guara, 1986 (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Jean-Claude Lassègues, Lacommande, on the commandery hospital and the village, Centre de Généalogie des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, éd. Marrimpouey, 2012 (in French)
  16. ^ Jukka Kiviharju, op. cit., No. 87
  17. ^ The château of Aubertin sometimes changed hands. So, at the end of the 13th century, it was exchanged between the Gers family of Faudoas and the Commander of Aubertin before returning to the lordship of Artiguelouve
  18. ^ Paul Raymond, General count of houses in the Viscounty of Béarn in 1385 by order of Gaston Febus, Pau, Manucius, 2000 (in French)
  19. ^ E353, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  20. ^ Communal Archives of Monein, FF6, No. 3, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  21. ^ Bulletin of the Society of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Pau, 1911 (SER2, T39), p. 256 (in French)
  22. ^ 62J, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  23. ^ E1336 and E1481, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  24. ^ Genealogy of France (in French)
  25. ^ Historical Archives of Gironde, 1896, T31, p. 145 (in French)
  26. ^ E1497, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  27. ^ B678, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  28. ^ A. Dufau de Maluquer, Arms of Béarn, Vol. III, p. 306, Edition des Régionalismes, 2011 (in French)
  29. ^ B5761, Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  30. ^ Jean-Claude Lassègues, The lordship of Aubertin before the Revolution, Généalogie des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2011, No. 103, p. 11 (in French)
  31. ^ Jean-Claude Lassègues, The history of the commune of Aubertin and Lacommande, Généalogie des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2010, No. 102, p. 3 (in French)
  32. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  33. ^ Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Archived 2014-05-24 at the Wayback Machine, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 2 March 2012 (in French)
  34. ^ Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr
  35. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aubertin, EHESS (in French).
  36. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  37. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000535 Church of Saint-Augustin (in French)