Audaux

Audaux is located some 18 km south of Orthez and 6 km north-west of Navarrenx. Access to the commune is by the D27 road from Bugnein in the south-east passing through the south of the commune and the village and continuing to Laàs in the west. The D427 branches off the D27 in the commune and goes to Castetbon in the north. The D947 highway passes through the north of the commune as it goes from Bastanès in the south-east to Orthez. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Geup west of the village and Lacamoire in the north of the commune on the D947. The commune is mixed forest and farmland with most of the land area farmland.[2]

The Gave d'Oloron forms all of the south-western border as it flows north-west to join the Gave de Pau forming the Gaves réunis at Peyrehorade. The Barthes forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Gave d'Oloron. The Ruisseau de Labaigt flows south through the centre of the commune and through Geap to join the Gave d'Oloron. The Saleys river flows across the north of the commune from east to west and it continues north-west to join the Gave d'Oloron east of Saint-Pé-de-Léren.[2]

The commune name in béarnais is Audaus. Michel Grosclaude proposed a possible etymology from an Aquitaine man's name Aldene with the suffix -os.[5]

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

Sources:

• Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 (in French)[5]
• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)[3]
• Cassini: Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Audaux, EHESS. (in French)

Origins:

• Marca: Pierre de Marca, History of Béarn.[6]
• Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume CXIV[7]
• Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of Oloron[8]
• Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750[9]
• Census: Census of Béarn[10]
• Reformation: Reformation of Béarn[11]
• Castetner: Notaries of Castetner[12]
• Gassion: Enumeration of Gassion[13]
• Camptort: Titles of Camptort[14]
• Military: Military Inspection of Béarn[15]
• Enumeration: Enumeration of Audaux[13]

Paul Raymond noted on page 16 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 the commune depended on the bailiwick of Navarrenx and had 84 fires. Audaux was dependent of the Marquis of Gassion.[3]

List of Successive Mayors[16]

(Not all data is known)

In 2017 the commune had 164 inhabitants.

Audaux has a very high proportion of non-permanent population (e.g. pupils in boarding schools): 31% (73 of 237) as of 2017.[19] This is due to the private boarding school of Sainte-Bernadette having 110 students boarding there.

Economic activity in the commune is mainly agricultural. The commune lies in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty.

The Gassion Chateau with a hot air balloon

Since 1991 the village has held a rally of hot air balloons on the second weekend in July.

Civil heritage

Aerial view of the Chateau of Audaux

The commune has one building that is registered as a historical monument:

• The Chateau of Audaux (1659).[20] Since 1943 the chateau has belonged to the Foundation of Apprentices of Auteuil who have established a private scholastic institution called DSainte-Bernadette. Although it is a private castle, it can be visited with a historian guide during Heritage Day on the 2nd Sunday in September, on open days for the institution in late May, and during the "Castle Festival" in mid-July.

• Isaac de Porthau, called Porthos, was a French military man born at Pau on 2 February 1617. He was the inspiration for Alexandre Dumas for the fictitious character Porthos in his novel The Three Musketeers. He came from a Béarnais Protestant family originally from Audaux.

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department