| Balansun | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Arrondissement: | Pau |
| Canton: | Artix et Pays de Soubestre |
| Insee: | 64088 |
| Postal Code: | 64300 |
| Mayor: | Bénédicte Alcetegaray[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Lacq-Orthez |
| Coordinates: | 43.4925°N -0.6975°W |
| Elevation M: | 112 |
| Elevation Min M: | 84 |
| Elevation Max M: | 208 |
| Area Km2: | 10.73 |
Balansun (pronounced as /fr/; oc|Valensun) is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
Balansun is a commune in the former province of Béarn located some 6 km east of Orthez and 4 km north of Argagnon. Access to the commune is by the D946 road from Arthez-de-Béarn in the east which passes through the centre of the commune south of the village and continues south-west to join the D817 west of Castétis. Access to the village is by the Chemin de l'Eglise which branches north off the D946 on the western side of the commune. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.[2]
The commune is located in the Drainage basin of the Adour with the Ruisseau de Clamondé forming the southern border of the commune as it flows west to join the Gave de Pau west of Castetis. Three streams flow through the commune from east to west into the Ruisseau de Clamondé gathering many tributaries in the commune/
Michel Grosclaude said that the origin of the original name is the Gascon Latin name of a man Valentius with the suffix -unum.
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
| Name | Spelling | Date | Source | Page | Origin | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balansun | Balansun | 1205 | Raymond | Bérérenx | Village | ||
| Balansun | 13th century | Raymond | |||||
| Balansun | 1323 | Grosclaude | |||||
| Balensu | 1343 | Raymond | Pardies | ||||
| Valenssun | 1385 | Raymond | Census | ||||
| Valencin | 14th century | Raymond | Froissart | ||||
| Balanssun | 1536 | Raymond | Reformation | ||||
| Balensun | 18th century | Grosclaude | |||||
| Balensun | 1750 | Cassini | |||||
| Balenzun | 1793 | Ldh/EHESS/Cassini | An II | ||||
| Balensun | 1801 | Ldh/EHESS/Cassini | |||||
| Bellegarde | Belegarde | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Farm and Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn | ||
| Friquet | la maison de Fricquet | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn | ||
| Laheuguère | La Figuere | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Farm | ||
| Saint-Martin | Sent-Marthii | 1385 | Raymond | Census | Farm | ||
| Tresarbres | Tresarbres | 1538 | Raymond | Reformation | Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn, with 400 arpents in 1538 |
Sources:
Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. [4]
Origins:
Paul Raymond noted that on page 20 of his 1863 dictionary that the fief of Balansun was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn and, in 1385, had 27 fires depending on the bailiwick of Pau.
| From | To | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1792 | 1794 | Pierre Cazaban | |
| 1794 | 1795 | Jean Bousque | |
| 1795 | 1797 | Arnaud Tisnerot | |
| 1797 | 1800 | Jacques Vispalie | |
| 1800 | 1803 | Jean Bouisque | |
| 1803 | 1804 | Arnaud Casaux | |
| 1804 | 1814 | Arnaud Tisnerot | |
| 1814 | 1816 | Jean Moureu | |
| 1816 | 1821 | Boniface Thimothée Desbordes-Louboey | |
| 1821 | 1826 | Jean Tisnerot | |
| 1826 | 1832 | Jean Cammau | |
| 1832 | 1837 | Léonard Moureu | |
| 1837 | 1841 | Jean Caubet | |
| 1841 | 1848 | Jacques Vispalie | |
| 1848 | 1858 | Léonard Moureu | |
| 1858 | 1871 | Pierre Lescurat | |
| 1871 | 1886 | Jean Paraige | |
| 1886 | 1896 | Jean Debaig | |
| 1896 | 1900 | Jean Baptiste Daugarou | |
| 1900 | 1912 | Jean Debaig | |
| 1912 | 1942 | Jean Maubecq |
| From | To | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 1944 | Jean Baptiste Daugarou | |
| 1944 | 1946 | Pierre Temboury | |
| 1946 | 1977 | Alfred Debaig | |
| 1977 | 1995 | Jean Sautie | |
| 1995 | 2001 | Marie-Thérèse Maubecq | |
| 2001 | 2014 | Anny Furbeyre | |
| 2014 | 2026 | Bénédicte Alcetegaray |
The commune is part of four inter-communal structures:
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balansenais or Balansenaises in French.[12]
Economic activity is mainly agricultural (livestock).
The Parish Church of the Assumption of Notre-Dame (1850) is registered as an historical monument.[13]
The commune has a primary school which is grouped in an RPI (Intercommunal Educational Grouping) with the primary school in Castétis.