Ascarat (French pronunciation: [askaʁat]; Basque: Azkarate)[3] is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Ascarat
Azkarate
Traditional Farmhouse in Ascarat
Traditional Farmhouse in Ascarat
Coat of arms of Ascarat
Location of Ascarat
Map
Ascarat is located in France
Ascarat
Ascarat
Ascarat is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ascarat
Ascarat
Coordinates: 43°10′17″N 1°15′14″W / 43.1714°N 1.2539°W / 43.1714; -1.2539
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementBayonne
CantonMontagne Basque
IntercommunalityCA Pays Basque
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Philippe Etchenique[1]
Area
1
5.82 km2 (2.25 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
339
 • Density58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64066 /64220
Elevation120–446 m (394–1,463 ft)
(avg. 161 m or 528 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants are known as Azkaratear.[4][5]

Geography

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The fronton in the square

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.[6]

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.[6]

Places and hamlets

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  • 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

[7]

Toponymy

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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".[8]

Chubitoa was a hamlet in Ascarat and Anhaux, mentioned in 1863[13]

Jauréguy was a fief, vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre, cited in the 1863 dictionary[14] as was Larragoyen.[15]

The commune name in basque is Azkarate.[3][5]

History

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The parish was mentioned in 1256 and was "ravaged by soldiers" in 1396.[16]

In 1391 Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry included the modern communes of Anhaux, Ascarat, Irouléguy, and Lasse.[17]

Heraldry

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Arms of Ascarat
Blazon:

Quarterly, at 1 Azure, a vine stalk leaved in Argent, fruited in Or; at 2 Argent an eagle rising of Sable on a mount of Vert; at 3 Argent with 2 fesses of Gules; at 4 Azure with a horse gai passant of Or surmounted by two mullets of Argent posed in fesse, a canton sinister of Gules charged with a sword of Argent.



Administration

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List of Successive Mayors[18]

From To Name Party Position
1995 2020 Jean-Michel Galant AB General Councillor
2020 2026 Philippe Etchenique

Inter-communality

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The commune is part of nine inter-communal structures:[19]

  • 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

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In 2017 the commune had 321 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 334—    
1800 260−3.51%
1806 279+1.18%
1821 369+1.88%
1831 402+0.86%
1836 441+1.87%
1841 440−0.05%
1846 445+0.23%
1851 403−1.96%
1856 340−3.34%
1861 375+1.98%
1866 354−1.15%
1872 360+0.28%
1876 353−0.49%
1881 350−0.17%
1886 354+0.23%
1891 346−0.46%
1896 412+3.55%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 338−3.88%
1906 350+0.70%
1911 354+0.23%
1921 321−0.97%
1926 323+0.12%
1931 355+1.91%
1936 353−0.11%
1946 348−0.14%
1954 325−0.85%
1962 274−2.11%
1968 283+0.54%
1975 282−0.05%
1982 294+0.60%
1990 294+0.00%
1999 275−0.74%
2007 284+0.40%
2012 313+1.96%
2017 321+0.51%
Source: EHESS[20] and INSEE[21]

Economy

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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

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The Church

Civil heritage

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

  • Uhaldea House (18th century) [22]
  • Harizpea Farm (1587) [23]
  • Chateau de Vergues (or Chateau de Fargas) (18th century) [24]
  • Houses and Farms (17th-19th centuries) [25]

Religious heritage

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The Church of Saint-Julien-d'Antioche  is of medieval origin was heavily rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century.[26]

Notable people linked to the commune

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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 AZKARATE, Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, ISBN 978-2-35077-151-9 (in French)
  5. ^ a b Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque language (Basque)
  6. ^ a b c Google Maps
  7. ^ Géoportail, IGN (in French)
  8. ^ a b c d e f Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, ISBN 2 86781 396 4 (in French)
  9. ^ a b c 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)
  10. ^ Titles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda (in French)
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ Manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  13. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 50 (in French)
  14. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 85 (in French)
  15. ^ Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 94 (in French)
  16. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000420 Presentation of the commune of Ascarat (in French)
  17. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000425 Presentation of the commune of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry (in French)
  18. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  19. ^ Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Archived 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 2 March 2012 (in French)
  20. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ascarat, EHESS (in French).
  21. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  22. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000459 Uhaldea House (in French)
  23. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000416 Harizpea Farm (in French)
  24. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000415 Chateau de Vergues (in French)
  25. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000486 Houses and Farms (in French)
  26. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000414 Church of Saint-Julien-d'Antioche (in French)
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