Abère Explained

Abère
Commune Status:	Commune
Arrondissement:	Pau
Canton:	Pays de Morlaàs et du Montanérès
Insee:	64002
Postal Code:	64160
Mayor:	Myriam Cuillet^[1]
Term:	2020 - 2026
Intercommunality:	Nord-Est Béarn
Coordinates:	43.3906°N -0.1744°W
Elevation M:	335
Elevation Min M:	239
Elevation Max M:	346
Area Km2:	5.81
Demonym:	Abérois, Abéroises

Abère (pronounced as /fr/; oc|label=[[Béarnese dialect|Béarnese]]|Avera) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.

Geography

Location

Abère is located some 22 km northeast of Pau and some 9 km northeast of Morlaas. The D7 road (Route de Vic) heading east from Saint-Jammes passes through the southern portion of the commune and continues to Baleix. Access to the village is by the Chemin de Lapoutge going north from the D7 for about 6 km. The Highway D207 coming south from Simacourbe forms the eastern boundary of the commune. The commune is mostly farmland with forests in the north and east^[2]

Hydrography

Located in the watershed of the Adour, the Grand Léez river forms the western border of the commune, with the Arriutort joining it at the northern tip of the commune and forming the northeastern border of the commune.

Localities and hamlets

• Bartot
• Berducq
• Bordenave
• Briscoulet
• Courde
• Crouquet
• Hourcade
• Labat
• Larré
• Piarrette
• Salabert
• La Teulère

^[3]

Neighbouring communes and towns

^[2]

Toponymy

The name Abère was mentioned in the tenth century^[4] (according to Pierre de Marca^[5]) and appeared in the forms:

• Oere and Bere (1385^[4] Census of Béarn^[6]),
• Vere and Avere (1385^[7] Census of Morlaàs, but uncertain if it is the same locality^[7]),
• Oeyre was mentioned in 1487^[4] Registry of Béarnais businesses.^[8]
• Abere appears on the Cassini Map of 1750^{[7] [9]} and in the 1790 map,^[10] Bulletin of Laws.

Michel Grosclaude^[7] proposed a Latin etymology of abellana or abella, derived from the Béarnais abera (according to Brigitte Jobbé-Duval.^[11]), which means "hazelnut" and by extension "the hazel copse"

The commune's name in Béarnais is Avera.

History

Paul Raymond^[4] noted that in 1385, there were 8 fires in Abère and that it depended on the bailiwick of Pau. A barony was created in 1672, a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. The commune was part of the Archdiocese of Vic-Bihl, which in turn depended on the Diocese of Lescar of which Lembeye was the capital.^[12]

Its Lay Abbey, ^[13] the house of Bosom d'Abadie is mentioned in 1385.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Abère^[14]

From	To	Name
1995	2008	Jean-Pierre Lortet
2008	2014	Claude Conte-Hourticq
2014	Current	Myriam Cuillet

Intercommunality

Abère is a member of three inter-communal organisations:^[15]

• the community of communes of Nord-Est Béarn
• the AEP Union for the Luy and Gabas Regions
• the energy Union of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Culture and Heritage

Civil heritage

Several structures are listed as historical monuments in the commune. These are:

• Tile factory at la Teulère^[16]
• Former Lay Abbey: the Bosom d'Abadie^[13]
• Town Hall (former Presbytery) (19th century)^[17]
• Chateau of Bordenave d'Abère (1732)^[18]
• Menyucq House farm (1841)^[19]
• Houses and Farms (19th century)^[20]

Religious Heritage

• The Church of St. John the Baptist (16th century)^[21] The church contains several historical objects. These are:
  • Processional Cross (17th century)^[22]
  • Altar Cross^[23]
  • Painting: Christ on the Cross with Saint John, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist (18th century)^[24]
  • Baptismal Fonts (12th century)^[25]
  • 4 Altar Candlesticks^[26]
  • 2 statues: Angels holding a column and a scale^[27]
  • Tabernacle^[28]
  • Altar (18th century)^[29]
  • Altar, Tabernacle, and 4 Candlesticks at the secondary altar^[30]

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

External links

• Abère on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
• Abere on the 1750 Cassini Map

Notes and References

1. Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022. fr.
2. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ab%C3%A8re/@43.3835055,-0.1661794,6682m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0xd563b6c15015a8f:0x8822edc9e08a8a11?hl=en Google Maps
3. http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil?c=-0.1744,43.3906&z=7.92265E-5&l=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.3D$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS@aggregate(1)&l=ADMINISTRATIVEUNITS.BOUNDARIES$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS(1)&permalink=yes Géoportail
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=2TCHmbiipFIC Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees
5. [Pierre de Marca]
6. Manuscript of the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
7. [Michel Grosclaude]
8. Manuscripts of the 15th and 16th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
9. http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/cassinige.html?lat=43.3906&lon=-0.1744&zoom=13 Cassini Map 1750 - Abère
10. http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/clipmosaiccassini400.html?lat=43.3906&lon=-0.1744&zoom=13 Cassini Map 1790 - Abère
11. [Brigitte Jobbé-Duval]
12. https://books.google.com/books?id=2TCHmbiipFIC Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees
13. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
14. http://www.francegenweb.org/mairesgenweb/resultcommune.php?id=22114 List of Mayors of France
15. http://comdpt.pyrenees-atlantiques.pref.gouv.fr/ComDpt64/ComGrp.php?siren=216400028&licom=Abère Intercommunalité des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 9 November 2011
16. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
18. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
19. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
20. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
21. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
24. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
25. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
26. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
27. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
28. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
29. Ministry of Culture, Palissy
30. Ministry of Culture, Palissy