Abos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Abos
Commune
Church of St. John the Baptist
Coat of arms
Location of Abos
Abos Show map of France Abos Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°21′32″N 0°33′43″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Le Cœur de Béarn
Intercommunality	Lacq-Orthez
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Pierre Cazalère[1]
Area ^1	8.45 km^2 (3.26 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	529
• Density	63/km^2 (160/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Abosiens, Abosiennes
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64005 /64360
Elevation	108–250 m (354–820 ft) (avg. 123 m or 404 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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

Geography

Location

Abos is located 15 km north-west of Pau and 20 km southeast of Lescar, on the left bank of the Gave de Pau which is the north east boundary of the commune. Highway D2 (Route de Pau) passes through the commune; however, this route bypasses the village and Route D2002 must be taken to enter the village. The southeastern boundary of the commune is formed by Highway D229 (Chateau d'Abos).[3]

Hydrography

The commune is located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, with the Gave de Pau in the northeast and a number of streams in the commune feed into the La Baise river (and its tributary, the old channel of the mill, itself fed by the Arrious Brook) and Juscle.[3]

Localities and hamlets

• Bagneres
• Cap de Castel[4]
• Chateau of Abos[5]
• Idernes[6]
• Le Moulin d'en Bas
• Le Moulin d'en Haut
• Peyré
• Saint-Laurent[7]

[8]

Neighbouring municipalities

[3]

Toponymy

The name Abos is mentioned in 1116 and 1234[9] (Pierre de Marca[10]) and in the 13th century[11] (Fors de Béarn[12]).

It also appears in the forms:

• Abossium (1345,[11] Notaries of Pardies[13])
• Abos (1385,[9] census of Béarn[12])
• Abous (1538,[11] Reformation of Béarn[14])
• Abos (1630[9] Pierre de Marca[10] and in 1750[9] on the Cassini Map.[15]

Michel Grosclaude proposed a Latin etymology of Avus with the aquitaine suffix -ossum.[9]

The commune name in Béarnais is Abòs (according to the conventional standard of Occitan).

Aubrun was a farm in Abos which was mentioned in 1538 as La boyrie aperade d'Aubrun,[16] Reformation of Béarn B. 637[14] in the 1863 dictionary.

Cap de Castel is a hamlet in Abos mentioned by the dictionary in 1863.[4]

Paul Raymond said in 1863 that the Chateau of Abos or Castet-d'Abos, was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn.[5]

Donadon was a fief under the Viscounts of Béarn, mentioned in 1538[17] (reformation of Béarn[14]).

The fief of Idernes was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn and appeared in the forms:

• Ydernas and Ydernes (1538 and 1546 respectively,[6] reformation of Béarn[14]).

Maucor was a fief of Abos, cited with the spelling of L'ostau de Maucoo in 1385[18] in the Census of Béarn.[12] This fief was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn then restored to the Bailiwick of Lagor and Pardies as was Saint Jean, another fief of Abos, also mentioned in 1385[19] (Census of Béarn[12]) in the form of L'ostau de Sent-Johan d'Abos.

Saint-Laurent, a hamlet and fief of Abos under the Viscounts of Béarn, was also restored to the Bailiwick of Lagor and Pardies. It was mentioned in the forms Sent-Laurentz d'Abos (1343,[7] Notaries of Pardies[13]) and Saint-Laurens d'Abos (1674,[7] Reformation of Béarn [14]).

History

Paul Raymond[11] noted that the commune had a Lay Abbey a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn and in 1385, Abos depended on the bailiwick of Lagos and Pardies with 49 fires.

The Lord of Abos was of the first rank after the Barons (called ruffebaron) of Béarn.

Heraldry

Arms of Abos

The arms of the commune of Abos are blazoned : Quarterly party per saltire, the first Vert, chimney of Or smoking argent flanked at dexter by a factory of Or; at second Gules, an ear of corn of Or leaved in Vert; at third Gules, a bunch of grapes of Or leaved in Vert; at fourth Vert, a church argent surmounting two cows of Or confronting. horned, collared and belled.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Abos[20]

From	To	Name	Party
1995	2014	Jean-Marie Cazalère
2014	2026	Jean-Pierre Cazalère	DVD

Inter-communality

The town is a member of nine inter-communal organisations:[21]

• the community of communes of Lacq-Orthez
• SIVU for the development and management of the river basin of the baïse
• AEP union for the Gave and the baïse;
• sanitation union of the communes of the valleys of Juscle and Baise
• Energy union for the Pyrenees-Atlantiques;
• inter-communal union of Monein;
• inter-communal union for defence against flooding of the Gave de Pau
• inter-communal union for forestry management for Gabe-Baise
• the inter-communal union for educational regrouping for Abos and Tarsacq

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Abosiens or Abosiennes in French.[22]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 573 —     1800 520 −1.38% 1806 500 −0.65% 1821 599 +1.21% 1831 607 +0.13% 1836 590 −0.57% 1841 586 −0.14% 1846 567 −0.66% 1851 512 −2.02% 1856 507 −0.20% 1861 459 −1.97% 1866 484 +1.07% 1872 478 −0.21% 1876 468 −0.53% 1881 445 −1.00% 1886 432 −0.59% 1891 411 −0.99% 1896 397 −0.69%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 401 +0.20% 1906 412 +0.54% 1911 386 −1.30% 1921 360 −0.69% 1926 346 −0.79% 1931 328 −1.06% 1936 319 −0.55% 1946 339 +0.61% 1954 371 +1.13% 1962 432 +1.92% 1968 479 +1.74% 1975 462 −0.51% 1982 467 +0.15% 1990 479 +0.32% 1999 481 +0.05% 2009 482 +0.02% 2014 531 +1.96% 2020 537 +0.19%
Source: EHESS (1793–1999)[23] and INSEE[24]

Economy

The commune is part of the Jurançon AOC and Béarn AOC vineyard regions. Activity in the commune is mainly agricultural (livestock and corn).

The commune is also part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-Iraty cheese.

Culture and Heritage

Religious Heritage

The Church of Saint John the Baptist[25] dates to the 19th century.

Facilities

The town has a primary school.

Notable people linked to the commune

• Didier Courrèges is a French horseman, a former high level event rider (CCE) and a member of the Cadre Noir - elite instructors at the National Riding School of Saumur. He now lives in Abos.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

External links

• Abos on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Abos on the 1750 Cassini Map

References

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. Google Maps
4. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 41 (in French)
5. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 45 (in French)
6. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 81 (in French)
7. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 150 (in French)
8. Géoportail, IGN (in French)
9. Michel Grosclaude, Topnymical Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Ed. Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, ISBN 2-35068-005-3, page 192 (in French)
10. According to Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn
11. 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)
12. Manuscript of the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
13. Notaries of Pardies - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
14. Manuscript of the 16th to the 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
15. Cassini Map 1750 - Abos
16. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 16 (in French)
17. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 57 (in French)
18. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 110 (in French)
19. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, p. 149 (in French)
20. List of Mayors of France (in French)
21. Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 9 November 2011
22. Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr (in French)
23. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Abos, EHESS (in French).
24. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
25. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000566 Church of St. John the Baptist (in French)