Aramits is located in part of the Barétous valley, the westernmost of the three main valleys of Béarn crossing the Pyrenees. It is located some 15 km south-west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 3 km north of Arette.
Access
Access is by the D919 road from Ance in the north-east to the village then continuing to Lanne-en-Baretous in the south-west. There are also the minor roads D659 from the village north to join the D159 on the northern border and the D133 which goes south from the village to Arette.[3]
Bus route 848 of the Inter-urban network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, which connects La Pierre Saint-Martin (a ski resort in Arette) to Oloron-Sainte-Marie, has a stop in Aramits.
Hydrography
Located in the drainage basin of the Adour, the commune is bisected from south-west to north-east by : Le Vert a tributary of the Gave d'Oloron which gathers many tributaries of its own in the commune including the Aurone, the Lancy, the Littos, the Talou Gros, and also by the arrècs of Bugalaran, Bitole (as well its tributary the Rachet), Ibarcis, and Labaigt (and by its tributary the Audore).
The tributaries of the Joos: the Arriou de Sulu and the Bouhatéko erreka (with the Dragon) also flow through the commune.
The commune name in béarnais is Aràmits (according to classical norm of Occitan). For Brigitte Jobbé-Duval,[6] the origin of the name is from the Basquearan ("valley") and -itz (a locative and collective suffix) giving "place of valleys" or "confluence".[7] It would also indicate that the inhabitants were once nicknamed grenouilles (frogs) - a name for the inhabitants of wetlands).
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Name
Spelling
Date
Source
Page
Origin
Description
Aramits
Aramiçs
1270
Raymond
7
Ossau
Village
Aramitz en Baratons
1376
Raymond
7
Luntz
Iramitz
1383
Raymond
7
Luntz
Sent-Vinsens d'Aramitz
1606
Raymond
7
Insinuations
Aramys
1630
Grosclaude
Le Païs de Béarn Map
Aramits
1750
Cassini
L'Arrigau
lo ariu aperat la Rigau
1538
Raymond
12
Reformation
Stream with its source in Arette and joining the Vert in Aramits
L'Arrigas
1863
Raymond
Basques
Basques
1863
Raymond
22
Hamlet
La Bourette
La Bourette
1863
Raymond
35
Tributary of the Vert which rises in Aramits
Le Bois de Bugangue
lo boscq de Buyangue
1477
Raymond
37
Aspe
Wood on the territory of Asasp in 1863. The Ruisseau de Bugangue, a tributary of the Mielle which rose in Asasp and Gurmençon in 1863, passed through the wood.
Calangué
La Calangue
1863
Raymond
39
A Stream with its source in the Bois de Budangue and joining the Dandarou, a tributary of the Vert.
Close to another place in Aramits which is now in the commune of Lanne-en-Barétous. It had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. In 1385 it was part of the bailiwick of Oloron and had 17 fires.
Paul Raymond on page 7 of his 1863 dictionary that Aramits is the former capital of the Barétous valley and that there were two Lay Abbeys, vassals of the Viscounts of Béarn: The Abadie-Susan and Abadie-Jusan.
He further noted that in 1385 there were 52 fires at Aramits and it depended on the bailiwick of Oloron.[4]
Shortly before (in 1375), the priest of Aramits played the role of mediator in conflicts between the Navarrese and the Bearnese which gave birth to the treaty called the Junta de Roncal, leading to the yearly tribute of the three cows paid by Aramits to Isaba (Spain).
In 1790, the Canton of Aramits also included Esquiule.
On 13 March 2000 Aramits was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 4.2.
Heraldry
Arms of Aramits
Blazon:
Vert, two swords Argent saltirewise points to base surmounted by a musketeer's hat of Sable feathered in Argent.
The economy of the town is primarily oriented toward agriculture and livestock (cattle and sheep). It is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.
The Parish church of Saint-Vincent (17th century) is registered as an historical monument. It was a former Lay Abbey with the remains of a portal from the 17th century but the old church was demolished in 1880. The new Romanesque-Byzantine style church was built from 1884 to 1886.[21]
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