The Church of Saint-Étienne of Aroue in the morning sun.The Church Tower.Hilarri in the cemetery in Aroue.Hilarri in the cemetery in Aroue.View of the hamlet of Ithorots, the church, and the fronton with a glimpse of the chateau in the background.The church at Ithorots.The Chapel at Olhaïbe.
Aroue-Ithorots-Olhaïby is located in the former Basque province of Soule some 10 km east of Saint-Palais and 10 km south of Sauveterre-de-Béarn. Access to the commune is by the D11 road from Domezain-Berraute in the west passing through the west fork of the commune then Etcharry then the east fork and the village before continuing south-east to Charritte-de-Bas. The commune is mixed forest and farmland.[3]
Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the commune is traversed from south to north by the Lafoure (a tributary of the Saison) with its tributary the Hourquet and the Lauhirasse with its tributary the Thiancoenia erreka.[3]
Places and Hamlets
Abbadie (château)
Aïntcia
Aitzaguer
Aroue
Bagardoy
Bartulague[4]
Begorre
Beheria
Benoscar (Forest)
Bentaberria
Berhon
Berrogain
Bethe
Bidauria
Bohoteguia
Bouhaben
Carriquiry
Ertorraenia
Etchebarnia
Etcheberria
Etchecoin
Etchelecu
Etchemborde
Eyherabide
Garay
Guestereguia
Hagoua
Harguina
Harguinaborda
Ithorots
Jaureguiberria
Joantho (château)
Landaco
Landuchia
Larraburuzahar
Larrartia
Lassartia
Linchinbiague
Mendiburia
Mendicoi
Mendionde
Metcha (Mill)
Olhaïby
Olhassaria[4]
Oxaïby
Oxart
Oxidoya
Oyhamburia
Oyhenart-Chipi
Oyhençabal
Pagueguy
Poulit
Quillilauquy
Salla
Sallagaray
Saubidet
[5]
Toponymy
The commune name in basque is Arüe-Ithorrotze-Olhaibi.[6]
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicated that Ithorots possibly signified "source of cold water" and Olhaïby "the ford of the huts".[7]
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Sources:
Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy[7] on the page numbers indicated in the table.
Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)[4]
EHESS (1): Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ithorots-Olhaïby, EHESS(in French).
EHESS (2): Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Olhaïbi, EHESS(in French).
Origins:
Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume CXIV[9]
'Ohix: Contracts retained by Ohix, Notary of Soule[10]
Luntz:[11]
Military: Military Inspection of Béarn[12]
Languedoc: Confessions of Languedoc[13])
Reformation: Reformation of Béarn[14]
Arthez-Lasalle: Titles of Arthez-Lassalle[15]
History
Paul Raymond noted on page 11 of his 1863 dictionary that Aroue was one of the seven districts of Soule and depended on the messagerie of Barhoue. There was a Lay Abbey at Ithorots, vassal of the Viscounts of Soule. The fief of Olhaïby was a vassal of the Viscounts of Soule and its owner was one of ten potestats of Soule.[4]
The commune had a "Temple of Reason" during the French Revolution, undoubtedly because in the Béarnais region, Aroue was the only Basque commune to adopt the Jacobin anti-religion policy.
Between 1790 and 1794 Ithorots commune was merged[16] with Olhaïby to form the new commune of Ithorots-Olhaïby. On 1 August 1973 (by prefectural order of 20 July 1973), the commune of Aroue merged with Ithorots-Olhaïby to form the new commune of Aroue-Ithorots-Olhaïby.
Administration
List of Successive Mayors[17]
Inter-communality
The commune is part of eight inter-communal structures:
the educational regrouping association of Arbérats-Sillègue, Arbouet-Sussaute, Aroue, and Etcharry;
the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
the inter-communal association for the functioning of schools in Amikuze;
the joint forestry association for oaks in the Basque and béarnais valleys;
the association to support Basque culture.
Demography
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arouetarrak.[18] The population data given in the table and graph below for 1968 and earlier refer to the former commune of Aroue.
The village has architecture typical of the eastern Basque Country: gable roofs covered with tiles, whitewashed walls with houses from the 16th century.
As in many Basque villages, the fronton is adjacent to the church.
Religious heritage
Two churches are registered as historical monuments:
The Church of Saint-Étienne at Aroue (12th century)[21] is a Romanesque church rebuilt in the 19th century. There is a sculpture from the 12th century of Saint Jacques on a horse and a Spanish image of "Matamoro".
The Church of Saint-Samson at Ithorots (19th century)[22]
The Church at Olhaïby has several items that are registered as historical objects:
A Painting: The Martyrdom of Saints Cyr and Judith (18th century)[29]
A Tabernacle, Retable, 2 Candlesticks, Statues, Altar Cross, and Painting (18th century)[30]
A Processional Cross (18th century)[31]
Environmental heritage
The town lies on the GR 65. It is at the beginning of the 7th section of the GR which is listed by UNESCO as World Heritage. The presentation file to UNESCO locates the commune on the Via Podiensis on the Way of St. James. There is no real historical justification for this but it is an important fact for this small town. Justification was found by Dr. Urrutibetehy, the pioneer who traced the paths in the region (it was he who set up the so-called Stele of Gibraltar and made a point of convergence of these paths). He saw in the horseman shown on the lintel of the door of the sacristy, a representation of Saint Jacques Matamoros.
Notable people linked to the commune
Franz Duboscq, born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1924, MP and senator, former president of the council and mayor of the town until 2001.
^ a b c dTopographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 (in French)
^Géoportail, IGN (in French)
^Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque language (in Basque)
^ a bJean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, ISBN 2 86781 396 4(in French)
^Cassini Map 1750 – Ithorrots
^Duchesne Collection, volumes 99 to 114, containing the papers of Oihenart, former Imperial Librarian - Bibliothèque nationale de France
^Manuscripts from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
^Contracts retained by Luntz, Notary of Béarn in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
^Manuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
^Confessions of Languedoc in the Archives of the Empire (in French)
^Manuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
^Titles of the Arthez-Lassalle family at Tardets(in French)
^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ithorots-Olhaïby, EHESS(in French).
^List of Mayors of France (in French)
^Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr
^Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aroue-Ithorots-Olhaïby, EHESS(in French).
^Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000685 Church of Saint-Étienne (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000692 Church of Saint-Samson (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000546 Retable (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000545 Candlestick (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000544 Altar Cross (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000543 Tabernacle (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000542 Candlestick (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000541 Statuettes (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000540 Painting: The Martyrdom of Saints Cyr and Judith (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000539 Tabernacle, Retable, 2 Candlesticks, Statues, Altar Cross, and Painting (in French)
^Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM64000198 Processional Cross (in French)
External links
ITHORROTZE and OLHAIBI in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (in Spanish)
Aroue and the 7th stage of GR 65 registered as World Heritage (in French)
_l'%C3%A9glise_dans_la_lumi%C3%A8re_du_matin.JPG/1280px-Aroue_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,_Fr)_l'%C3%A9glise_dans_la_lumi%C3%A8re_du_matin.JPG)
_church_tower.JPG/1280px-Aroue_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,Fr)_church_tower.JPG)
_st%C3%A8le_disco%C3%AFdale_1.JPG/1280px-Aroue_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,Fr)_st%C3%A8le_disco%C3%AFdale_1.JPG)
_st%C3%A8le_disco%C3%AFdale_2.JPG/1280px-Aroue_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,Fr)_st%C3%A8le_disco%C3%AFdale_2.JPG)
_vue_du_village.JPG/1280px-Ithorots_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,Fr)_vue_du_village.JPG)
_%C3%A9glise.JPG/1280px-Ithorots_(Aroue-Ithorots-Olha%C3%AFbe,_Pyr-Atl,Fr)_%C3%A9glise.JPG)
[21] is a Romanesque church rebuilt in the 19th century. There is a sculpture from the 12th century of Saint Jacques on a horse and a Spanish image of "Matamoro".
[23]