| Arette | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Arette (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).svg |
| Arrondissement: | Oloron-Sainte-Marie |
| Canton: | Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1 |
| Insee: | 64040 |
| Postal Code: | 64570 |
| Mayor: | Pierre Casabonne[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Haut Béarn |
| Coordinates: | 43.0961°N -0.7156°W |
| Elevation Min M: | 292 |
| Elevation Max M: | 2315 |
| Area Km2: | 92.23 |
Arette (in French pronounced as /aʁɛt/; Occitan (post 1500);: Areta) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. It is located in the arrondissement of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and the canton of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1.
Arrete is located some 15 km south by south-west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and some 4 km south-east of Aramits. It lies close to both the French Basque region and borders Spain in the south. It is within the borders of Béarn, one of the traditional French provinces.
Access to the commune is by French rail SNCF to Pau, and a short bus ride to Arrete. Less scenic is the automobile route: D918 road from Lanne-en-Barétous in the north-west coming south-east to the village then continuing east to Issor. The D132 goes south from the village down the length of the commune following a tortuous mountain route before exiting the southern border of the commune over the Col de la Pierre St Martin (1,760m), which is also the border with Spain, and becoming the Spanish NA-137 which continues to Isaba. The D341 also goes south-east from the village then south, connecting with the D241 at the Col de Labays (1,351m) going east to join the E7 highway south of Sarrance, then continuing along the south-western border to join the D441 south of the commune. The D133 also goes north from the village to Aramits.[2]
Bus Route 848 of the Intercity Network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Transports 64) links Arette to Oloron-Sainte-Marie. Arette is a very large commune and has a land area of 92230NaN0. It is also mountainous (the La Pierre Saint-Martin ski resort is within its borders, for example) and its highest peak is the 2,315 m Soum Couy, which is situated not far from the 2,504 m Pic d'Anie, the highest peak in the western Pyrenees. From Pic d'Anie the mountain range extends downwards for approximately 20 km, forming both sides of the Aspe Valley to the north-west. The Vert d'Arette (a tributary of the Vert) flows through this valley. The ancient village (also named Arette) from which the commune extends is located at an altitude of 316 m in the valley of Barétous, which lies between the aforementioned Aspe valley, to its east, and the Basque province of Soule, to its west.
Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the commune is the source of numerous tributaries of the Vert which is itself a tributary of Gave d'Oloron. The largest tributary flowing through the commune is the Vert d'Arrette however many other streams flow north towards the Vert including: the Abat Daurèye and its tributary, the Banu Erreka (accompanied by the Ruisseau de Aurèye); Ibarcis Erreka; the Lancy; the Ruisseau de Gurré and its tributary the Ruisseau de Lagaretche; the Ruisseau de Hournères and its tributary, the Ouettone; the Ruisseau de Légorre and its tributary, the Cassiau de Ber; the streams of Nécore, Soulayets, Talu Gros, and Virgou with the tributary of the latter, the Arrigau (accompanied itself in the commune by the Bachère).
The Gave de Lourdios, a tributary of the Gave d'Aspe, and its tributaries, the Arric and the Moulia (and their tributaries, Casteigt Erreka and the Ruisseau de Poussious) also pass through the commune. The Gave de Sainte-Engrâce, a tributary of the Saison, and its tributary, the Montcholako Erreka also flow in the territory of the commune.
The commune name in béarnais is Arèta (according to the classical norm of Occitan). The name comes from the Basque ar- meaning "stone" and from the locative suffix -eta meaning "stony place".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
| Name | Spelling | Date | Source | Page | Origin | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arette | Areta | 1186 | Raymond | Barcelona | Village | ||
| Rete | 1383 | Raymond | Luntz | ||||
| Arete | 1385 | Raymond | Census | ||||
| Erete | 1440 | Raymond | Barétous | ||||
| Aretha | 1444 | Raymond | Cour Major | ||||
| Eretha | 1444 | Raymond | Cour Major | ||||
| Hereta | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | ||||
| Saint Pierre d'Arette | 1674 | Raymond | Insinuations | ||||
| Arrette | 1750 | Cassini | |||||
| Arete | 1801 | Ldh/EHESS/Cassini | |||||
| Arrègle | le molii d'Arregle | 1385 | Raymond | Census | Farm and a Mill on the Vert d'Arette | ||
| Aregle en Baretous | 1433 | Raymond | Notaries | ||||
| Aregla | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | ||||
| Réglé | 1863 | Raymond | |||||
| Arlas | Arlas | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Mountain on the Spanish border | ||
| L'Arrigau | lo ariu aperat la Rigau | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | A stream rising in Arette and which joins the Vert at Aramits | ||
| L'Arrigas | 1863 | Raymond | |||||
| Aurèye | L'Aureye | 1863 | Raymond | Stream rising in Arette, tributary of the Vert | |||
| Bayrès | Bayres | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Farm | ||
| Bayres | 1863 | Raymond | |||||
| Col de Bissourritto | Col de Bissourritte | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain Pass | |||
| Bois de Bouchet | Bouchette | 1863 | Raymond | Wood | |||
| La Chousse | La Chousse | 1863 | Raymond | Stream rising in Arette, a tributary of the Vert | |||
| Costemale | Costemale | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| Les Courréges | Les Courréges | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| Estratte | Estrate | 1385 | Raymond | Census | Farm | ||
| Estrata | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | ||||
| Estrate | 1863 | Raymond | |||||
| Col de Garbas | Col de Garbas | 1863 | Raymond | Pass between the communes of Arette and Lanne-en-Barétous | |||
| Guilhers | Le Pas de Guilhers | 1863 | Raymond | Wood between the communes of Arette and Lées-Athas | |||
| Hournères | Le Hourner | 1863 | Raymond | Stream rising in Arette and joining the Chousse | |||
| Lagaretche | Lagarretche | 1863 | Raymond | Wood | |||
| Le Pont Larron | Le Pont Larron | 1863 | Raymond | Bridge named after the former name of the Vert d'Arette: Larron | |||
| Lèche | La singla de Lexe | 1589 | Raymond | Reformation | Mountain and Wood | ||
| Légorre d'Ibarry | Legorre | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| Mantchola | Le Manchola | 1863 | Raymond | Stream delineating the border between Arette and Sainte-Engrâce before joining the Uhaïtxa | |||
| Le Nécore | Le Col de Nécore | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain Pass. A stream of the same name rises at the pass and joins the Vert d'Arette in Arette | |||
| Pernalatte | Pernalatte | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain | |||
| La Pernotte | La Pernotte | 1863 | Raymond | Stream, tributary of the Chousse | |||
| Pescamou | Pescamou | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain and Pass on the Spanish frontier | |||
| La Pierre Saint-Martin | La peyre de Sent-Martin, frontière de Navarre | 1589 | Raymond | Reformation | Assembly place for the inhabitants of the Barétous Valley in France and Roncal in Spain | ||
| Le Pourtet | Pourtet | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain on the Spanish border extending to Arette and Lées-Athas | |||
| Le col de Soès | Le col de Soès | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain Pass | |||
| Soulaing | Soulaing | 1863 | Raymond | Mountain between Arette and Osse-en-Aspe and a stream, tributary of the Lourdios | |||
| Soulayets | Le Soulayet | 1863 | Raymond | Stream that flows through Arette and joins the Vert | |||
| Tamarpouey | Tamarpoey | 1385 | Raymond | Census | Farm | ||
| Tamarpoey | 1863 | Raymond | |||||
| Le Termy | Le Termy | 1863 | Raymond | ||||
| Trémeil | Torrumie | 1703 | Raymond | Regulation | |||
| Tremeilh | 1863 | Raymond |
Sources:
Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. [4]
Origins:
In 1385 there were 87 fires in Arette and it depended on the Bailiwick of Oloron.[4]
On 13 August 1967 the village of Arette was 80% destroyed by an earthquake that killed one person. The ruined clock tower of the church indicated the exact time of the earthquake: 11:10 p.m. Seismic waves were felt from Pau to Tarbes and Bayonne.[15]
List of Successive Mayors[16]
| From | To | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1793 | 1800 | Ignace Camou | |
| 1800 | 1807 | Jean Lasalle | |
| 1808 | 1813 | Pierre Hum | |
| 1813 | 1831 | Jean-Pierre Salet | |
| 1831 | 1835 | Jean Carrère | |
| 1835 | 1837 | Pierre Camgros | |
| 1837 | 1843 | Étienne Superville | |
| 1843 | 1848 | Jean-François Sérée | |
| 1848 | 1853 | Pierre-Joseph Castéran | |
| 1853 | 1856 | Jean-François Sérée | |
| 1857 | 1861 | Philippe Salies | |
| 1861 | 1872 | Charles-Henri Fischer | |
| 1872 | 1877 | Jean Bergé | |
| 1877 | 1884 | Charles-Henri Fischer | |
| 1884 | 1890 | Emmanuel Salet | |
| 1890 | 1892 | François Dabancens | |
| 1892 | 1894 | Charles-Henri Fischer | |
| 1894 | 1906 | Jean-Baptiste Labourdette | |
| 1906 | 1907 | Vincent Lagrave | |
| 1907 | 1916 | Bernard Trébucq | |
| 1919 | 1942 | Pierre Casabonne |
| From | To | Name | Party | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 1952 | Michel Lagrave | |||
| 1952 | 1989 | Jean-Marie Lonne-Peyret | |||
| 1989 | 2001 | Joseph Arrègle | |||
| 2001 | 2026 | Pierre Casabonne | General Councillor |
Arette is part of six inter-communal structures:
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France. Arette has twinning associations with:[17]
In 2017 the commune had 1,057 inhabitants.
The population of the town is relatively old.
Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arette and Pyrénées-Atlantiques Department in 2017
| Arette | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Range | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
| 0 to 14 Years | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.9 | 15.0 | |
| 15 to 29 Years | 13.5 | 11.8 | 16.4 | 14.3 | |
| 30 to 44 Years | 13.5 | 14.2 | 18.3 | 17.5 | |
| 45 to 59 Years | 26.3 | 22.2 | 21.2 | 20.6 | |
| 60 to 74 Years | 20.6 | 20.9 | 17.8 | 18.6 | |
| 75 to 89 Years | 11.5 | 12.3 | 8.5 | 11.7 | |
| 90 Years+ | 0.7 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 2.4 | |
The economy of the commune is primarily oriented toward agriculture and livestock (cattle and sheep) and logging. The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.
The Barétous Museum is located in the commune. It features permanent collections on pastoralism and the Junta Roncal or "Tribute of the Three Cows".
The former Lay Abbey (17th century) is registered as an historical monument.[20]
The Arette Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
There is an arboretum in the east of the commune.[3]
Arette has a public college: the College of Arette Barétous[25] and a primary school.
The Basque pelota Club trains on the village fronton.
The town is located on the route of the 16th stage of the Tour de France 2007 which took place on 25 July. On Bastille Day 2015 the Tour will pass through the town again. 218 km route linked Orthez to Gourette - Col d'Aubisque.
The Hill-climbing event, organized since 1984, is listed as a championship of France.
