| Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette | |
| Native Name: | Altzai-Altzabeheti-Zunharreta |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).svg |
| Arrondissement: | Oloron-Sainte-Marie |
| Canton: | Montagne Basque |
| Insee: | 64015 |
| Postal Code: | 64470 |
| Mayor: | Anicet Erreçarret[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Pays Basque |
| Coordinates: | 43.0961°N -0.9075°W |
| Elevation M: | 344 |
| Elevation Min M: | 217 |
| Elevation Max M: | 1535 |
| Area Km2: | 34.40 |
Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette (in French pronounced as /alsaj alsabe.eti synaʁɛt/;)[2] is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette is located in the former province of Soule.[2] It is located some 35 km west by south-west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 10 km north of Larrau.
The commune can be accessed by the small D247 road from the village to Tardets-Sorholus in the north-east. The D149 branches off this road in the commune and goes north to Camou-Cihigue. There is also the D117 road which goes west from the village to Mendive.[3]
Located in the drainage basin of the Adour, most of the southern border of the commune is formed by the Alphoura river (18 km long) which also flows through the village and continues northeast to join the Saison near Alos-Sibas-Abense. The Alphoura is fed by many tributaries rising in the commune including the Azaléguy and Ardounc. The Escalérako erreka rises in the south and flows west with its many tributaries.[3]
Paul Raymond mentioned the Arangaïxa, a brook that rises at Alçay and flows into the Alphoura.
The commune name in Basque is Altzai-Altzabeheti-Zunharreta.[2] [5]
According to Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, the base (h)altz meaning "aulne" was used for both the toponyms Alcay and Alçabéhéty. beheti means "at the bottom".
The name Sunharette comes from the Basque zunhar (Name from Soule meaning "elm" or "poplar") using the romanized locative suffix ette meaning the "place of elm".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
| Name | Spelling | Date | Source | Page | Origin | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alçay | Aucet Suson | 1337 | Orpustan | Village | |||
| Alsay | 1385 | Raymond | Duchesne | ||||
| Ausset-Suson | 1479 | Raymond | Ohix | ||||
| Alçay | 1520 | Orpustan | |||||
| Aucet Suson | 1690 | Orpustan | |||||
| Auset Suson | 1690 | Orpustan | |||||
| Alsai | 17th century | Raymond | Chronicles | ||||
| Alçabéhéty | Aucet Juson | 1337 | Orpustan | Village | |||
| Ausec-Juson | 1385 | Raymond | Duchesne | ||||
| Auset Juzon | 1385 | Orpustan | |||||
| Auzat Juzon | 1385 | Orpustan | |||||
| Aucet Juzon | 1690 | Orpustan | |||||
| Alcabehety | 1793 | Cassini1 | |||||
| Alçabehety | 1801 | Cassini1 | |||||
| Sunharette | Sunarte | 1337 | Orpustan | Village | |||
| Sunharrete | 1475 | Raymond | Ohix | ||||
| Sunharrette | 1690 | Orpustan | |||||
| Sunarrette | 1690 | Orpustan | |||||
| Sonharette | 1793 | Cassini2 | |||||
| Sunharrette | 1801 | Cassini2 | |||||
| Arangaïxa | L'Arangaïxa | 1863 | Raymond | Stream | |||
| Arhansus | Arhansus | 1863 | Raymond | Wood | |||
| Athaguy | Athagui | 1520 | Raymond | Soule | Farm | ||
| Atagui | 1520 | Raymond | Soule | ||||
| Belhy | Belhy | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| Burunolatxé | Le Col de Burunolatxé | 1863 | Raymond | Pass | |||
| Couhourre | Couhourre | 1863 | Raymond | Wood | |||
| Esquirassy | Esquirassy | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| Etcheverry | Etcheberri | 17th century | Raymond | Chronicles | Fief, under the Viscounts of Soule | ||
| Handiague | Handiague | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain |
Sources:
Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. [7]
Alçabéhéty on the Ldh/EHESS/Cassini database
Sunharette on the Ldh/EHESS/Cassini database
Origins:
In 1790 Sunharette was the chief town of a canton which was part of the District of Mauleon. The canton included the communes of Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette, Alos-Sibas-Abense, Camou-Cihigue, Etchebar, Lacarry-Arhan-Charritte-de-Haut, Lichans-Sunhar, and Ossas-Suhare.
In 1833, the three communes of Alçay, Alçabéhéty, and Sunharette merged to form a single joint commune.
List of Successive Mayors[11]
| From | To | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 2001 | Arnaud Dascon | |
| 2001 | 2026 | Anicet Erreçarret |
The town is part of seven intercommunal organisations:
Activity is mainly focused on agriculture (livestock and pasture). The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-Iraty cheese.
The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments: