Baigts-de-Béarn

Baigts-de-Béarn (French pronunciation: [batʃ də beaʁn], literally Baigts of Béarn; Occitan: Vaths de Bearn) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Geography

Baigts-de-Béarn is located some 6 km north-west of Orthez and 23 km east of Peyrehorade. The western part of the northern border of the commune is also the departmental border between Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Landes. Access to the commune is by road D817 from Puyoô in the west which passes through the south of the commune and the village and continues south-east to Orthez. The D415 (the old Route Imperiale) branches from the D817 west of the commune and passes through the village before continuing east to Orthez. The D315 goes north from the village then east to Saint-Boès. The D915 goes north from the D315 to Saint-Girons-en-Béarn. The A64 autoroute passes through the southern tip of the commune but there is no exit with the nearest exit being Exit

 7  some 3 km west of the commune. The commune is mostly farmland with scattered forests.^[3]

The Gave de Pau forms the southern border of the commune as it flows west to join the Gave d'Oloron at Peyrehorade. Numerous streams rise in the commune and flow south to join the Gave de Pau including the Ruisseau de Montlong. The Ruisseau de Lataillade forms the northern border of the commune as it flows west and forms part of the departmental border with Landes before joining the Gave de Pau west of Puyoô. The Arriou de Bardj rises in the north of the commune and flows west then south to join the Gave de Pau east of Ramous.

Places and hamlets

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is Vaths de Bearn.

The name Baigts means "valley" in Gascon but, according to Michel Grosclaude^[5] that meaning is to be avoided. According to him Baigts comes from the Gascon vaths which is derived from vallis meaning "hollow" or "depression" or from vallum meaning "palisade" or "entrenchment". In the old village there is a Rue de l'Embarrat meaning "fortified redoubt".

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

Name	Spelling	Date	Source	Page	Origin	Description
Baigts	Baigs	13th century	Raymond	19	Fors de Béarn	Village
	Baigx	1318	Raymond	19	Béarn
	Bags	1343	Raymond	19	Béarn
	Bachs	1505	Raymond	19	Garos
	Batz	1540	Raymond	19	Reformation
	Vagtz	1548	Raymond	19	Reformation
	Baitz	1582	Raymond	19	Alienations
	Baigts	1750	Cassini
Baziart	Bessiart	1540	Raymond	25	Reformation	Farm
Brau	Lo Brau	1540	Raymond	36	Reformation	Farm
	Braü	1863	Raymond	36
Castillon	Castelhoo-Susoo	1385	Raymond	46	Census	Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn
	Castilhon	1682	Raymond	46	Reformation
Labasse	La Basse	1540	Raymond	87	Reformation	Farm
Lacoumayou	Cau-Mayor	1385	Raymond	89	Census	Farm
	La Caumayo	1540	Raymond		Reformation
Le Petit-Hameau	Le Petit-Hameau	1863	Raymond	75		Hamlet
Portes	Portes	1385	Raymond	138	Census	Fief, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn and dependent on the bailiwick of Rivière-Gave
	Portas de Bags	1538	Raymond	138	Reformation
Turon de Castéra	Le Touron de Castéra	1675	Raymond	169	Reformation	Moor

Sources:

• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)^[4]
• Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750^[6]

Origins:

• Fors de Béarn^[7]
• Béarn: Titles of Béarn,^[8]
• Garos: Notaries of Garos^[9]
• Reformation: Reformation of Béarn^[10]
• Alienations: Alienations of the Diocese of Dax^[11]
• Census: Census of Béarn^[12]

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 19 of his 1863 dictionary that the commune depended on the Diocese of Dax and was the capital of the Notary of Rivière-Gave, the name of an arch-priesthood of the diocese of Dax which gave its name to the Gave de Pau. In 1385 the commune had 59 fires.^[4]

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[13]

From	To	Name
1995	2014	Christian Palette
2014	2026	Guy Pemartin

Inter-communality

The commune is part of three inter-communal structures:

• the Communauté de communes de Lacq-Orthez;
• the water and sanitation association of Trois Cantons;
• the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Batchois or Batchoises in French.^[14]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 935 —     1800 934 −0.02% 1806 995 +1.06% 1821 1,033 +0.25% 1831 995 −0.37% 1836 980 −0.30% 1841 1,000 +0.40% 1846 1,028 +0.55% 1851 1,003 −0.49% 1856 1,010 +0.14% 1861 1,001 −0.18% 1866 1,003 +0.04% 1872 905 −1.70% 1876 893 −0.33% 1881 913 +0.44% 1886 913 +0.00% 1891 866 −1.05% 1896 830 −0.85%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 849 +0.45% 1906 848 −0.02% 1911 806 −1.01% 1921 743 −0.81% 1926 735 −0.22% 1931 690 −1.26% 1936 641 −1.46% 1946 623 −0.28% 1954 576 −0.98% 1962 633 +1.19% 1968 621 −0.32% 1975 677 +1.24% 1982 744 +1.36% 1990 777 +0.54% 1999 739 −0.56% 2007 799 +0.98% 2012 824 +0.62% 2017 876 +1.23%
Source: EHESS[15] and INSEE[16]

Economy

In addition to an economy focused on agriculture (livestock and corn), the commune has a hydroelectric plant.

The commune is part of the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Béarn.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

• The Chateau of Bellevue is a nursing home for disabled workers.

Religious heritage

• The Parish Church of Saint Vincent and Saint Bartholomew (17th century)
  is registered as an historical monument.^[17]

Facilities

The commune has a primary school.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

References

External links

• Baigts on the 1750 Cassini Map