Accous | |
|---|---|
 A general view of Accous | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Accous | |
  Accous  Accous | |
| Coordinates:42°58′30″N0°35′55″W / 42.975°N 0.5986°W /42.975; -0.5986 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Pyrénées-Atlantiques |
| Arrondissement | Oloron-Sainte-Marie |
| Canton | Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1 |
| Intercommunality | Haut Béarn |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Dany Barraud[1] |
Area 1 | 60.68 km2 (23.43 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 465 |
| • Density | 7.66/km2 (19.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 64006 /64490 |
| Elevation | 420–2,458 m (1,378–8,064 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Accous (French pronunciation:[akus];Occitan:Acós) is acommune in thePyrénées-Atlantiquesdepartment in theNouvelle-Aquitaineregion in southwesternFrance.
_ruisseau_la_Berthe.JPG)
_Pont_d%2527Esquir%2c_cascade_descendant_du_bois_d%2527Arapoup.jpg)
Accous is located some 30 km south ofOloron-Sainte-Marie in theAspe Valley, one of the three valleys of the High-Béarn, the other valleys being theOssau Valley in the east and Barétous valley in the west. From the Spanish border on its southern edge, it stretches along Le Labadie river to the point where it joins theGave d'Aspe. From this river junction, the Gave d'Aspe forms the western border of the rest of the commune which extends a further 10 kilometres to the east with the Lac du Montagnon at the northeastern edge.[3]
The commune is accessed from the north by the E7 motorway. This highway follows the western border of the commune along theGave d'Aspe then crosses the narrow neck of the commune before continuing to the Spanish border nearCandanchu. To access Accous village it is necessary to follow one of a number of country roads - the Daban Athas road probably being the most direct. Apart from country roads within the commune there is no other road access.[3]
The commune is traversed by some tributaries of theGave d'Oloron, the Besse stream and theGave d'Aspe, as well as tributaries of the latter such as the Gave Lescun (itself joined in the commune by the Labadie creek) and the Berthe[4] (Accous is fed by the torrent of Araille).
The Cotcharas stream and its tributary, the Congaets stream also flow in the territory of Accous, as tributaries of the Gave d'Aydius, the Gave de Bouren and the Sahun stream.
Accous is dominated by the Poey, a conical hill covered with ferns, culminating at 652 m.The Poey is ofvolcanic origin and is made of ophites.[5]These green and harsh volcanic rocks from theTriassic belong todolerites. They have resisted the erosion ofglaciers andtorrential rivers.This is the reason why the Poey of Accous markedly emerges from the plain.
Places adjacent to Accous | |
|---|---|
The nameAccous appears in the following forms:
The name of the commune inGascon isAcós.
Brigitte Jobbé-Duval[23] hypothesises thatAccous originated fromAcca orAcco, a woman's name mentioned in the inscriptions of Spain.
The nameAppatie (cf.BasqueAphatea) came from theLay Abbey of Jouers through corruption of the wordAbbadie (Abadie in standardGascon). Note that in the Aspe Valley the voiceless consonants of Latin are preserved. This fief was a vassal of theViscounts of Béarn.[6]
Le Bois d'Arapoup is attested in 1863 in the Topographical Dictionary.[7]
Aület is mentioned in the formAulet in 1863 by the Topographical Dictionary.[8]
Lhers is also cited in the dictionary.[24]
The nameLa Berthe, a tributary of theGave d'Aspe, is cited in the dictionary of 1863.[25]
Despourrins (The Hill of) is also mentioned in 1863 in the Topographical Dictionary as a name taken from the poetCyprien Despourrins who was buried there.[10]
Izaure was a farm mentioned byPaul Raymond with the spellings:[26]
Jouers /juèrs/ was formerlyJoertz (1345,[11] Homages of Béarn[27]), probably ametathesis of a Basque wordOïhartz a derivative ofOihan meaning 'forest'. It is found in the spellingJoers (1345) thenJouers (in 1712), and againJoers (1863[11]).
The Col deLourtica is the name of a hill between the communes of Accous andAydius.[14]
Saint-Christau was a chapel, mentioned by the dictionary of 1863.[28]
Tillabé was a place in Accous reported by the dictionary in 1863 and also mentioned in the 18th century 2 in the formLe Tillaber (record of the proceedings of Accous). Paul Raymond said that Tillabé "was the place of meeting of the aldermen of the Aspe valley".[29]
Paul Raymond noted that the commune had aLay Abbey, a vassal of theViscounts of Béarn. In 1385, there were 74 "fires". Accous was the capital of the Aspe valley.[4]
 |
List of Successive Mayors of Accous[30]
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 1983 | Gaston Larrensou |
| 1983 | 1995 | Louis Moulia |
| 1995 | 2001 | Gaston Larrensou |
| 2001 | 2010 | Jean-Pierre Casaux |
| 2010 | 2014 | Éric Bergez[31] |
| 2014 | 2020 | Paule Bergés |
| 2020 | 2026 | Dany Barraud |
The town is part of five inter-communal organisations:[32]
Accous hastwinning associations with:[33]
Valle de Hecho (Spain) since 1978.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: EHESS[34] and INSEE[35] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The economy of the town is primarily oriented toward agriculture and animal husbandry. The cheese-making farms are also one of the resources of the commune, which is part of theAppellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation ofOssau-Iraty cheese.
The Toyal plant (a subsidiary of Toyo Aluminium, which produces aluminum powders and pigments, and anti-corrosive coatings), located at the edge of the commune, provides income to Accous through business tax, making of it the richest communes in the valley. This activity has created hundreds of jobs in the valley.
The median net disposible income per household was €19,610 in 2017, which is lower than the figure for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (€21,250).[36]
Accous has a number of old houses and farms registered as historical monuments. These are:
[37][38][39][40]The Accous railway station on thePau to Canfranc line has been closed to traffic since 1970.
The eco-museum of the Aspe valley is located in an old cheese factory. The manufacturing techniques of making mountain cheese and local culinary traditions are highlighted in the displays.
Several churches in the commune have been listed as historical monuments. These are:
[12][41][42] The church contains two historical objects. These are:[13][9]%2c_%25C3%25A9glise_vue_du_cimeti%25C3%25A8re.JPG)
_vitrail_1.JPG)
_statue_Saint_Christophe.JPG)
_chapelle_Saint-Saturnin%2c_vue_lat%25C3%25A9rale.JPG)
_chapelle_Saint-Saturnin_cot%25C3%25A9_chevet.JPG)
_chapelle_Saint-Saturnin%2c_clocher_et_cadran_solaire.JPG)
_porte_de_cimeti%25C3%25A8re_avec_coquilles_St.Jacques.JPG)
TheChapel of Saint-Christau at Aület was rebuilt in the 17th century near three miraculous fountains. Only the first remains, on the east side, consisting of a medieval stone basin and cover. Bathing there permits the casting away of evil spells and to cure fevers, sciatica and epilepsy. It has been renovated.
There is also an Abbey of the order ofNorbertine in Accous.
Accous is on the route of the "via Tolosane": Latin name of one of the four trails in France for pilgrimage toSt-Jacques-de-Compostolla. The via Tolosane starts in Arles via Toulouse (hence the name) to the Spanish border at Col du Somport.
Some peaks in the commune are:[15]
The town has a primary school, theécole du bourg.
Accous is a famous spot for paragliding inthe Pyrenees. There are two paragliding schools in the commune:
Accous also has communal lodgings.[47]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
