Ahetze

The commune is located some 13 km southwest of Bayonne and 30 km northeast of Donostia-San-Sebastion and only 4 km from the Atlantic beaches of Bidart and Guéthary.

Ahetze village is at the intersection of departmental roads D655 from Arbonne to Bidart and D855 from Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The commune can be accessed from Exit 4 (Biarritz La Négresse) and Exit 3 (Saint-Jean-de-Luz nord) from the A63 autoroute.

The Biarritz–Anglet–Bayonne Airport is 15-minute drive from the village.

The river Zirikolatzeko erreka, a tributary of the Uhabia, flows through the commune,[4] as well as several of its tributaries, including the Amisolako, Uroneko, and Besaingo.

Paul Raymond also stated in his Topographical dictionary of Bearn-Basque Country in 1863[5] that a tributary of the Alborga: the Haïstéchéhé flows through Ahetze after rising in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle.

[6]

Ahetze is a member of 8 Intercommunal organisations:

• the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque
• the union of Ouhabia
• the intercommunal association of secondary schools of Saint-Jean-de-Luz
• the intercommunal association Nive-Nivelle
• the mixed association of Bizi Garbia
• the association to support Basque culture
• the joint association for drinking water from the Ura
• the joint sanitation association of the Ura

The commune is a member of the Basque Eurocity Bayonne - San Sebastian.

The Map of the Seven Basque Provinces established by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte in 1863 indicated that the Basque dialect spoken in Ahetze was Labourdin.

Established in 1971, the Committee of Festivals of Ahetze (Ahetzeko Mozkor Banda) organises the following events: wheat threshing, dance evenings, a gala of Basque rural sports, loto, and employers' festivals that take place between 25 October and 11 November.

• The Ostalapia farm, now a restaurant, is a former way station on the road to Saint Jacques de Compostela and long before was a haven for the Guethariars and Bidartars when they were attacked by pirates from the ocean or by robbers. There are some boulders once used for walls in the parking area.
• Some old Baserri dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, some of which have been extended over time. New construction follows the Labourdin style.

• 
  Lintel dating from 1655
• 
  House extension
• 
  Modern Baserri (late 20th century)
• 
  Basque House under a storm
• 
  Hilarri[18]

The Church of Saint Martin (16th century) is registered as an historical monument.[19] The church contains a number of items that are registered as historical objects:

• • A Retable and 7 Paintings (1700)[20]
  • A Processional Cross (15th century).[21] This cross, whose arms are garnished with bells, was used in witchcraft trials in the year 1609 to the outrage of Councilor Lancre[22] who saw it as an evil object. The carvings on the Cross represent the faces of Christ, the Virgin, Saint John, a pelican, and two women's heads. On the back of the cross there is the representation of a bishop, undoubtedly Saint Martin.[10]
  • A Statue: Virgin of the Assumption (18th century)[23]
  • A Statue: Saint Jacques dressed as a pilgrim (18th century)[24]

Eugène Goyheneche[10] noted that the church quite exceptionally possessed a register of Catholics in Basque.

The Church Picture Gallery

• 
  Church of Saint-Martin
• 
  The bell tower seen from the village
• 
  Entrance to the Church
• 
  The Church
• 
  Close up of the Bells in the church
• 
  The choir of the church
• 
  Interior of the church
• 
  Altar with two pelerins of St. James
• 
  Altar piece detail: The Annunciation
• 
  Altar piece detail: Anna greeting Maria
• 
  Stained glass in the church
• 
  Stained Glass, Lady of the Rosary

On the heights of Ahetze all the Basque mountains near the Atlantic are visible: the Rhune, the Mondarrain, the Artzamendi, and the Ursuia in France as well as the Three Crowns in Spain.

• 
  View of the Mondarrain (750m) and the Artzamendi (906m)
• 
  La Rhune view from Ahetze
• 
  The Three Crowns, (Spain)
• 
  The Besaingo erreka
• 
  Watermill on the Besaingo erreka

Ahetze has two Frontons, one is old and built into the wall of the town hall, a second was completed in 2008 as part of the new development of the town.

A Trinquet called Pantxoa Sein is next to the primary school.

A marked fitness trail runs through the south-east of the village.

• 
  The Fronton next to the Town Hall
• 
  Plaque at the entrance to the Trinquet

Ahetze has a primary school and a nursery.

Ahetze has several health services: a general practitioner, a dentist, a nurse, a physiotherapist, and a speech therapist.