Aste-Béon

Aste-Béon is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Aste-Béon
Commune
The Ossau Valley at Aste-Béon
Location of Aste-Béon
Aste-Béon
Aste-Béon
Coordinates: 43°01′24″N 0°24′42″W
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementOloron-Sainte-Marie
CantonOloron-Sainte-Marie-2
IntercommunalityCC Vallée d'Ossau
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Jean-Michel Barrabourg
Area
1
19.05 km2 (7.36 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
237
 • Density12/km2 (32/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64069 /64260
Elevation438–1,800 m (1,437–5,906 ft)
(avg. 530 m or 1,740 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Astois et Béonais or Astoises et Béonaises.[2]

Geography

Aste-Béon is located in the heart of the Ossau Valley some 33 km south-east of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 7 km north of Laruns. Access to the commune is by road D240 from Castet in the north passing south down the valley in the west of the commune through the village and continuing to Béost in the south. The D290 connects the village of Béon in the north-east to the D934 road which runs from north to south parallel to the commune's western border. Most of the commune is rugged mountains with substantial forests except for a narrow strip down the western side of the commune in the Ossau Valley where there is farmland.[3]

The Gave d'Ossau forms most of the western border of the commune as it flows north down the Ossau Valley eventually joining the Gave d'Aspe at Oloron-Sainte-Marie. The Lamay river rises in the east of the commune and flows west to join the Gave d'Ossau just south of the village. The Arrigast flows into the Gave d'Ossau from the left bank forming the northern border of the commune on that side of the river.[3]

Places and hamlets
  • Grange l'Art
  • Aste
  • Béon
  • Boala d'Aste
  • Grange Borie
  • Chiperne
  • La Coumète
  • Le Coutchet
  • Dès (Barns)
  • Le Génébra
  • Grange Lavigne
  • Lourziou
  • Grange Loustalet
  • Grange d'Ourdou
  • Peyraube (Forest)
  • Le Port d'Aste
  • Le Port de Béon[4]
  • Pourteig
  • Grange Salle
  • Le Sarrat
  • Serres
  • Sers

[5]

Neighbouring communes and villages

[3]

Toponymy
Church in Béon village
House in Béon village

The commune name in béarnais is Asta-Bion.

Michel Grosclaude said that the name Aste comes from the basque aitz/as ("rocky point").[6] He suggested that the name Béon comes from the pre-indo-European oronymic root *ben

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
AsteAste1385GrosclaudeCensusVillage
Asta1487Raymond
16
Ossau
BéonBeoo1328GrosclaudeVal de TenaVillage
Beoo1374Raymond
28
Luntz
Beoo1385Raymond
28
Census
Beo de la Bag d'Ossau1427Raymond
28
Carresse
Sent Felix de Béon1654Raymond
28
Insinuations
Béon1750CassiniCassini Map
Le Port de BéonLe parsan du Port1756Raymond
138
DenombremontHamlet

Sources:

  • Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)[4]
  • Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 (in French)[6]
  • Ossau: Notaries of Ossau[7]
  • Val de Tena: Treaty of Ossau - Val de Tena
  • Luntz: Contracts of Luntz[8]
  • Carresse: Contracts of Carresse[9]
  • Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of Oloron[10]
  • Denombrement: Denombremont of Aste[11]
  • Cassini Map: Cassini Map from 1750[12]

History

In 1385 Aste had 18 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Ossau. In the same year Béon also had 18 fires and belonged to the same bailiwick. The fief of Béon depended on the Viscounts of Béarn.[4]

Administration
House in Aste-Béon village

List of Successive Mayors[13]

FromToNamePartyPosition
19952001Jean Vertut
20012014Augustin MédevielleUMP
20142020Jean-Michel Barrabourg

(Not all data is known)

Inter-communality

The commune is part of three inter-communal structures:[14]

  • the Communauté de communes de la Vallée d'Ossau;
  • the SIVU for the construction of the Retirement home in Haut-Ossau;
  • the joint association of Haut-Béarn;

The commune is part of the Pays d'Oloron et du Haut-Béarn.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 237 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 473—    
1800 244−9.02%
1806 483+12.05%
1821 323−2.65%
1831 520+4.88%
1836 610+3.24%
1841 564−1.56%
1846 597+1.14%
1851 605+0.27%
1856 604−0.03%
1861 588−0.54%
1866 606+0.60%
1872 465−4.32%
1876 475+0.53%
1881 471−0.17%
1886 482+0.46%
1891 443−1.67%
1896 414−1.34%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 400−0.69%
1906 410+0.50%
1911 371−1.98%
1921 356−0.41%
1926 331−1.45%
1931 344+0.77%
1936 324−1.19%
1946 271−1.77%
1954 275+0.18%
1962 267−0.37%
1968 235−2.11%
1975 196−2.56%
1982 211+1.06%
1990 159−3.48%
1999 231+4.24%
2007 262+1.59%
2012 275+0.97%
2017 237−2.93%
Source: EHESS[15] and INSEE[16]

Economy

The economy of the commune has historically been orientated towards agriculture and livestock. The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty.

In 1769, Jean-Joseph d'Augerot, Chief Justice of the Parliament of Navarre built a foundry in the Ossau Valley at Béon. The foundry used minerals from old mines located at Aste.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage
The Château of Béon
  • The Château of Béon (14th century) was occupied until the 17th century when it was abandoned until the 1980s. It remained the property of the House of Béon for all its history until its slow extinction in the 19th century. It is registered as a historical monument[17] and has been completely restored.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint John the Baptist (19th century) at Aste is registered as a historical monument.[18]

It contains a Chalice (1654) which is registered as a historical object.[19]

Environmental heritage

A Natural reserve of nesting vultures was created by a Ministerial Decree of 11 December 1974 and is located across the territoris of Aste-Béon, Bielle, Bilhères, and Castet. The museum which is associated with it, called La Falaise aux Vautours,[20] is at the entrance to the village.

The Pène de Béon is 1,251 metres high.[5]

The commune is traversed from north to south by the GR of Pays du tour de la vallée d'Ossau.[5][21]

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Inhabitants of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  3. Google Maps
  4. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 (in French)
  5. Géoportail, IGN (in French)
  6. Michel Grosclaude, Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, ISBN 2 35068 005 3 (in French)
  7. Notaries of Ossau in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  8. Contracts retained by Luntz, Notary of Béarn in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  9. Contracts retained by Carresse, Notary of Béarn, Manuscripts from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  10. Manuscripts from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  11. Manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  12. Cassini Map 1750 - Asson
  13. List of Mayors of France (in French)
  14. Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 14 May 2012 (in French)
  15. Données Cassini, EHESS
  16. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA64000053 Château of Béon (in French)
  18. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000527 Church of Saint John the Baptist (in French)
  19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000057 Chalice (in French)
  20. La Falaise aux Vautours website (in French)
  21. The GRP on the Community of communes website Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (in French)
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